PH receives first Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine shipment

The Philippines received its first shipment of 193,050 Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine doses on Monday, May 10, via DHL Express flight LD457, supplied by the COVAX global facility.

Nearly 30,000 of these Pfizer doses were flown to Cebu on Tuesday, May 11, via Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight PR1845.

The country now has four brands of COVID-19 vaccines available: CoronaVac, AstraZeneca, Sputnik V, and Pfizer.

The government expects to have a total of 11,364,000 doses of different COVID-19 vaccine brands in its inventory for May alone.

The Pfizer vaccine requires ultra-low temperature storage, initially limiting its distribution to areas with the necessary facilities like Metro Manila, Cebu City, and Davao City.

Vaccinations using the Pfizer-BioNTech jabs began on Wednesday, May 12, with San Juan and Makati among the first LGUs to administer the doses.

San Juan received 11,700 doses and used a rented ultra-cold freezer for storage, while Makati received 5,800 doses.

Medical workers are adjusting to administering the Pfizer vaccines, with San Juan aiming to increase its daily capacity as staff become more accustomed to handling them.