Philippines to buy 2 million doses of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine

The Philippines government targets to vaccinate as many as 30 million people a year. PHOTO: REUTERS

MANILA (BLOOMBERG) - The Philippines will sign an agreement to buy two million doses of Covid-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca on Friday (Nov 27).

Included in the agreement are private companies that will help the government fund the purchase, said Mr Carlito Galvez, vaccine czar and chief implementer of policies to contain the outbreak. A similar arrangement can be done with other vaccine manufacturers if the transaction is non-profit and they can bring down prices, he said.

The government targets to vaccinate as many as 30 million people a year to reach its goal to inoculate 75 per cent of the nation's population, Mr Galvez said. The vaccine rollout will probably start late second quarter due to constraints on global supply and distribution, he said.

Mr Galvez on Wednesday said the Philippines, which has the second-worst outbreak in South-east Asia, plans to buy as many as 50 million doses from China's Sinovac Biotech.

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