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Duterte says vaccines may be funded by loan
The Philippine government plans to borrow USD300 million to purchase COVID-19 vaccine doses for all Filipinos.
President Rodrigo Duterte acknowledged that vaccine acquisition may take time as pharmaceutical companies are expected to prioritize their own nations.
He noted that a significant portion of early vaccine production might be allocated to Americans.
Duterte mentioned that the Finance Secretary can secure the necessary funds for the purchase.
Despite the potential high cost of early acquisition, the President expressed optimism due to progress made by US and Chinese pharmaceutical firms in developing vaccines.
Specifically, US firm Pfizer and German drugmaker BioNTech announced their vaccine candidate showed 90 percent effectiveness in clinical trials.
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See how different news organizations are covering this story. Below are the original articles from various Philippine news sources that contributed to this summary.
The Philippines aims to begin its COVID-19 vaccination program by May 2021, with Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. overseeing the initiative.
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Russia can start producing COVID-19 vaccines for the Philippines as early as January 2021, contingent on the Philippines completing due diligence, signing an agreement, and finalizing procurement.
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Philippine Ambassador to Washington D.C. Jose Manuel Romualdez stated that the Philippines might receive US-made COVID-19 vaccines by early next year, at the latest.
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Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon proposed reallocating the P19 billion anti-insurgency fund for the advance purchase of COVID-19 vaccines.
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The bulk of COVID-19 vaccines are expected to arrive in the Philippines by the end of 2021 or early 2022, according to vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr.
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