Filipinos have something good to look forward to after the government signed a deal with US-based Moderna for 13 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines.
It was a positive development as far as the battle against Covid-19 is concerned especially since Moderna has one of the highest efficacy rates among the vaccines currently available. The firm claims that its vaccine has an efficacy rate of 94 percent.
MILLIONS of Filipinos who have been reeling from the effects of the ongoing contagion and already wanting to go back to their normal lives and fast have something good to look forward to.
This, after the US-based Moderna Inc said it has agreed to supply the Philippine government 13 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine even as deliveries are set to begin in mid-2021.
According to a GMA News report, the 13 million doses are part of the 20 million doses that the Philippines is set to procure from the same pharmaceutical company.
It was a positive development as far as the battle against Covid-19 is concerned especially since Moderna has one of the highest efficacy rates among the vaccines currently available.
The firm claims that its vaccine has an efficacy rate of 94 percent.
The company is currently working with regulators to pursue necessary approvals prior to the distribution, as it is also trying to sign a separate deal with the Philippine government and private sector to supply an additional 7 million doses.
“We thank the government and the private sector for their collaboration to bring the COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna to the Philippines,” the firm’s chief executive officer Stéphane Bancel said.
“We appreciate the confidence in Moderna, and our mRNA platform demonstrated by the Government of the Philippines. We remain committed to making our vaccine available on every continent to help end this global pandemic," he added.
Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez also confirmed the development describing the same as a huge step towards winning the battle against the pandemic.
"Hopefully darating 'yan by June of this year," he added.
Moderna is an American company, and its COVID-19 vaccine has shown 94% efficacy rate after human trials so far.
It was also gathered that apart from Moderna, the Philippines has also reserved 6 million doses of Janssen COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Johnson and Johnson, but there is no target delivery date yet.
Romualdez said Janssen is the lone COVID-19 vaccine which is administered with a single dose.
"'Yung Johnson and Johnson, meron tayong naka-reserve na 6 million pero hindi nila matiyak kung kailan nila puwedeng ma-deliver 'yan," Romualdez said.
"Dito kasi sa Amerika, may instruction si President Biden na lahat ng kailangan na bakuna ng mga Amerikano, gusto niya na by end of May, lahat ng mga Amerikano nabakunahan na," he added.
To recall, the country started its COVID-19 vaccination program last March 1, with health workers being the first in line to be inoculated using the 600,000 doses of vaccine from Sinovac donated by the Chinese government.
This was followed by the 487,200 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine donated by European nations and Australia under the global initiative COVAX facility which arrived on March 4.