The WHO asked Pfizer to “honor” promised delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to the Philippines, according to Galvez.
Vaccine czar Sec. Carlito Galvez Jr. on Thursday disclosed that the World Health Organization (WHO) had asked Pfizer to “honor” its promise of delivering COVID-19 vaccines to the Philippines.
In an interview on “The Source”, Galvez told CNN Philippines that the Philippine government received a letter from the World Health Organization, which relayed its recent conversation with the CEO of Pfizer.
“Binigyan po tayo ng letter ng WHO, na nakausap po nila ‘yung CEO ng Pfizer. And the WHO Director said they should honor ‘yung pangako dito sa Pilipinas. They promised that the Pfizer volumes that have been promised to us will be given — as promised also by the CEO of Pfizer,” Galvez said.
The initial Pfizer shipment the Philippines expected to receive would be supplied by the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) Facility — a global initiative led by the World Health Organization seeking to ensure equitable COVID-19 vaccine access among participating nations.
In a report on CNN Philippines, the 117,000-dose parcel was initially pegged to arrive in the Philippines in February 2021, but the delivery got delayed because of the absence of an indemnification deal between the parties.
While the Philippines had already complied with the requirements in order to secure the vaccines, WHO country representative Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe said that access to Pfizer supply had been a challenge.
The sentiment was echoed by Galvez, saying that there’s really a supply problem. Likewise, Galvez expressed hope big nations would soon “loosen up their hold” on the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine supply.
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