Sharjah24 – Reuters: The Philippines aims to finalise negotiations with Sinovac Biotech this week to acquire 25 million doses of the Chinese company's COVID-19 vaccine for delivery by March, a coronavirus taskforce official said on Monday.
President Rodrigo Duterte, who has pursued warmer ties with Beijing, wants to inoculate all his country's 108 million people, preferably buying vaccines from Russia or China.
Philippine officials had met with Sinovac representatives on Friday and there would be another meeting this week to finalise a deal, Carlito Galvez, the country's vaccine chief, said.
"We have already conveyed to them our needs, 25 million for 2021," Galvez told a news conference, adding that vaccine distribution was targeted for March.
Sinovac's plan to conduct Phase 3 clinical trial in the Philippines is being evaluated by the country's drugs agency. Trials are taking place in Indonesia and Brazil.
Philippine companies last month signed a deal for 2.6 million shots of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca, the Southeast Asian nation's first supply deal for a coronavirus vaccine, for delivery in May or June.
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