Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 13) — The Philippines expects a bulk shipment of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines to arrive in the country before the month ends, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said on Thursday.
He said the delivery of 2.2 million doses of the American-made vaccines will be facilitated by COVAX, a global initiative led by the World Health Organization, vaccine alliance Gavi, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.
“Ang next na delivery ng Pfizer — more or less 2.2 million — I was informed yesterday is before the end of the month,” he said in a media briefing.
[Translation: The next delivery of more or less 2.2 million is before the end of the month. I was informed of this yesterday.]
If it pushes through, this will be the second shipment of Pfizer vaccines the Philippines will get this month. The first batch of 193,000 doses arrived in the country on May 9. It is now being rolled out in some areas.
“(It) is indeed a milestone, this is the first shipment of Pfizer vaccines. We expect significantly larger shipments in the next few weeks,” WHO country representative Dr. Rabindra Abeyashinghe said after the arrival of the May 9 batch.
Galvez said vaccines allocated for Cebu and Davao will be delivered there straight to prevent “double handling.”
Pfizer’s vaccine needs to be stored in ultra-cold freezers with temperatures of about minus 70 degrees Celsius or below, which are not yet widely available nationwide. Adhering to the temperature requirements during storage and distribution is crucial to ensuring the vaccines’ efficacy.
