PH to get 10-M doses of AstraZeneca vaccines thru COVAX facility
By Roy Mabasa
British Ambassador to Manila Daniel Pruce on Friday announced that the Philippines is among the first countries to receive some 10 million doses of vaccines developed mostly by the pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca in the United Kingdom.

The British ambassador made this statement following the announcement by the Global Vaccine Alliance (GAVI) on the first interim distribution forecast of COVID-19 vaccine allocations through the COVAX Vaccines Facility.
“The Philippines is amongst those first countries, meaning who could receive of up to nearly 10 million doses of vaccines; mostly of the Oxford Astra Zeneca vaccine developed in the United Kingdom,” Pruce said in video footage uploaded on his Twitter account.
COVAX is one of three pillars of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, which brings together governments, global health organizations, manufacturers, scientists, private sector, civil society and philanthropy, to provide innovative and equitable access to COVID-19 diagnostics, treatments and vaccines.
The British diplomat said the COVAX facility expects the delivery of the vaccine doses in the first quarter of 2021, “perhaps as early as February” pending the Emergency Use Listing by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The UK has funded £548 million into the COVAX Advance Market Commitment that will help distribute COVID-19 vaccines to developing countries throughout 2021. It also remains as one of GAVI’s largest donors.
“This is part of our commitment to supporting countries around the world to get equitable access to COVID vaccines as part of their response to the coronavirus pandemic,” Pruce added.