British drugmaker AstraZeneca approved the private sector’s request for the second batch of vaccine supplies for donations.
Presidential adviser on entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion said AstraZeneca allowed the second batch of vaccine procurement.
“We are happy to announce that with enough support, and of course, demand coming from the private sector, the second part is now already in the works. The signing we did (a) few weeks ago made it to several headlines, and we received several inquiries from the private sector asking for more allocation, hence, a request (for) AstraZeneca to hopefully allow us to have a second batch,” Concepcion said.
“With all these announcements, our Filipino people can be assured that we will not be left behind… We will soon see this pandemic disappear,” he added.
“So far, this private-public partnership is working so well and has become a template for the private sector in this war against COVID-19,” Concepcion said.
Last month, AstraZeneca, the private sector, and the government signed a deal to purchase 2 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine for the Philippines.
According to vaccine czar Carlito Galvez, the United Kingdom, and AstraZeneca wanted to make their vaccine accessible to all and were not aiming to earn from it.
AstraZeneca to allot more COVID-19 vaccines for PH
AstraZeneca said earlier its COVID-19 vaccine was 70% effective in crucial trials and could be up to 90% effective.
The drugmaker also said that it would manufacture as many as 200 million doses by the end of 2020. The number was 400 times higher than U.S. competitor Pfizer Inc. AstraZeneca said 700 million doses could be available worldwide by the end of the first quarter of 2021.
“This means we have a vaccine for the world,” said Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford University group that developed the vaccine.
Meanwhile, Malacañang said last week the Philippines’ top choice for a COVID-19 vaccine is still China’s Sinovac despite the firm’s “bribery history.”
Roque added the “target remains that Sinovac will be the first that we can use to vaccinate our people, and it will be in the first quarter of next year.”