MANILA – Presidential adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion said he was told by vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. that the vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to be donated by the private sector may no longer be needed as the national government receives ample supply of vaccines.
“We’re seeking clarity on that position because we want to be sure that they don’t need (the donation) anymore,” Concepcion said in a television interview Tuesday.
The private sector and the government entered into a tripartite agreement with vaccine manufacturer AstraZeneca for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines, wherein half of the vaccines purchased by the private sector will be donated to the national government.
Nearly 20 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines were procured by the private sector under the tripartite deal.
“If they don’t need it anymore, of course the private sector, we will use that (to) either donate to other LGUs (local government units) that need our support, or share it to family members of our employees,” according to Concepcion.
He added that about 10 to 20 percent of their employees were already inoculated by the LGUs, thus any excess will likely be given to the members of households of their workers or to the LGUs.
The excess could also be used as the third dose.
Last week, the national government said the country has inoculated more than 13 million doses of vaccines against COVID-19 since the start of the inoculation program started in March.
The government targets to roll out four million more doses in the first two weeks of this month.(PNA)
