This was revealed by Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire in a press briefing Friday, December 29, 2022, saying they will just increase the stocks depending on the demand.
“We’re ordering by the millions, but it is not going to be really… we will start with a very minimal number of doses,” said Vergeire.
“We have an agreement with the manufacturers that in case the demand goes up, we can immediately place another order,” she added.
Bivalent Covid-19 vaccines target two strains of the Covid-19 virus: the original strain and Omicron strain.
Earlier, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued emergency use authorizations (EUAs) for the bivalent vaccines of Moderna and Pfizer.
Vergeire said they are already finalizing the guidelines for the use of the Pfizer and Moderna bivalent jabs.
“We are currently drafting the guidelines since the EUAs for both Pfizer and Moderna have already come out,” said the health official.
For Pfizer, Vergeire said they have already signed a confidentiality disclosure agreement, which will kick off the negotiations.
As for Moderna, she said negotiations for procurement are already in its advance stages.
“We are trying to procure from both manufacturers,” said Vergeire. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)