Some 1.5 million Filipinos will receive the AZD1222 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine following an agreement between the Philippine government and AstraZeneca, a UK-Sweden pharmaceutical joint venture, last week.

Some 1.5 million Filipinos will receive the AZD1222 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine following an agreement between

Under the 600 million peso (12.5 million USD) deal, which ensures that 2.6 million doses of the vaccine are delivered to the country in May and June next year.

National Task Force against COVID-19 Chief Implementer and Vaccine Czar Carlito Galvez Jr said the vaccine would be subjected to evaluation by the country's panel of vaccine experts and the Food and Drug Administration.

Half of the doses will be for government frontliners, and the other half for regular and contractual employees in private companies, he said.

The Philippines was the only country in Southeast Asia where AstraZeneca had chosen to test its vaccine. The firm requested each person to take two doses of its vaccine to ensure efficiency.

The local authorities said they are negotiating with AstraZeneca to purchase an additional 1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses.

Source: VNA