ANOTHER 300,000 doses of bivalent COVID-19 vaccines are expected to be given to the Philippines soon, the Department of Health (DOH) said yesterday.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, in a press conference, said the vaccines will be donated by a country which she did not name.
“We have a country, which we cannot name for now because the agreement is still being finalized, that has committed to donate additional 300,000 plus doses,” she said.
The DOH earlier said the COVAX Facility, an international vaccine-sharing initiative, has committed to donate at least million doses of the bivalent vaccines.
With the new commitment, Vergeire said, the country will have “almost 1.4 million doses” of the bivalent vaccines.
Vergeire reiterated that negotiations with the vaccine manufacturers are ongoing.
The bivalent COVID-19 shots are considered second generation vaccines as they contain components of the Omicron variant, which enables them to provide better protection against the virus.
The donations from COVAX are expected to arrive in the Philippines before the end of March.
The guidelines for the use of the bivalent vaccines in the country are still being drafted but the DOH has said priority recipients for the COVAX donations are healthcare workers (A1 in the priority list), senior citizens (A2), and individuals with comorbidities (A3)
