Philippines not losing 44M vaccine doses despite Pfizer delay

The Philippines will not lose its 44 million vaccine allocation from the COVAX facility despite a one-week delay in the delivery of Pfizer vaccines.

The initial arrival of Pfizer vaccines, expected by the third week of February, was postponed due to the finalization of an indemnity agreement and vaccine availability.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire stated that the delay will not significantly affect the government's mass vaccination plan, allowing more time to finalize rollout preparations.

The Food and Drug Administration confirmed that the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines will definitely be delivered within February.

The Philippines is expected to receive at least 5.6 million doses of Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines in the first quarter of 2021, with an initial 117,000 doses of Pfizer vaccines arriving this month.