Passengers on board a bus wear face masks and face shields, both mandatory in public transportation, to help curb coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infections, in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, August 19, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez/File Photo
The Philippines aims to have at least 50 million coronavirus vaccine shots next year to inoculate about a fourth of the population, bulk of which will likely arrive by the end of 2021 or early 2022.
A vaccine could be available to the Southeast Asian nation between May through July, said Carlito Galvez, vaccine czar and chief implementer of policies to contain the outbreak. The government is evaluating 17 vaccines in various stages and in talks to source the supply to initially vaccinate 25 million people, he added.
The Philippines plans to secure the vaccine through multilateral and bilateral talks, aside from using what’s available under the WHO-backed COVAX facility, which guarantees the country will get vaccines for 20% of its population, Galvez said. The country has Southeast Asia’s second-worst outbreak, with more than 396,300 infections as of Sunday, although infections declined for the second straight month in October.
