MANILA – The Philippines intends to limit the number of coronavirus vaccine brands in its portfolio to a maximum of four, according to the Department of Health (DOH).
The country does not need to get all vaccine brands, DOH Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said.
“Hindi na po tayo bibili sa aking pagkakaintindi ng Sputnik vaccine. Alam naman natin na kailangan natin nang i-limit. Masyado nang marami tayong portfolio ng bakuna (Based on my understanding, we are no longer going to purchase Sputnik vaccines. We know that we need to limit. We have many vaccines in our portfolio),” she said at the Laging Handa briefing.
“There are some preferences so baka i-limit lang natin ngayon sa (we might limit to just) three or four vaccines in the future,” she added.
According to Cabotaje, the single-dose Sputnik Light, manufactured by Russia’s Gamaleya Institute, may be administered as first, second, or booster doses.
The vaccine portfolio in the country is composed of AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Sinovac, Moderna, Janssen, Sputnik V, Sputnik Light, and Sinopharm.
The Philippines has already administered 125,089,118 vaccine doses as of January 26, according to the National Task Force Against Covid-19.
A total of 58,149,158 have been fully vaccinated, including 7,391,735 individuals aged 12 to 17.
On February 4 and 5, select sites will pilot the immunization of lower-dose Pfizer vaccines for children aged 5 to 11.
