Galvez: AstraZeneca, not gov’t, requires firms to donate vaccines

Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. clarified on Tuesday that it was AstraZeneca, not the Duterte administration, requiring private companies to donate half of their COVID-19 vaccine orders to the government.

AstraZeneca imposed this requirement as part of its company policy to ensure equitable access in all vaccine agreements.

The private sector had allocated P120 million to procure 450,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine for COVID-19, with half of these doses to be donated to the government.