MANILA — A "slight delay" will hit deliveries of COVID-19 shots to the Philippines from vaccine-sharing platform COVAX Facility due to an expected supply shortage from export restrictions by manufacturer India, the head of the Philippine inoculation strategy said on Tuesday.

The Philippines was initially set to receive in March or early April 979,200 AstraZeneca shots from the World Health Organization-backed COVAX, which was created to ensure vaccine supply for poorer countries.

But India, the world's biggest vaccine maker, put a temporary hold on exports of AstraZeneca's COVID vaccine being manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII), as officials focus on meeting rising domestic demand.

"Ang pinaka-latest information po natin sa COVAX ay magkakaroon po tayo ng slight delay considering the constraints sa ating global logistics," said Philippine vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr.

(Our latest information from COVAX is there will be a slight delay considering the constraints in our global logistics.)

"Nakikita natin baka iyong ating vaccination program for the first quarter and second quarter will be affected by the developments that some of the countries are prohibiting iyong export not only the vaccine but also iyong raw materials," he said in a press briefing.

(We see that our vaccination program for the first and second quarter will be affected by the developments that some of the countries are prohibiting the export not only of the vaccine, but also raw materials.)

The Serum Institute was due to deliver 90 million vaccine doses to COVAX over March and April and, while it was not immediately clear how many would be diverted for domestic use, program facilitators warned that shipment delays were inevitable.

Philippine authorities are "trying our best to facilitate the remaining commitment of COVAX," said Galvez.

• WHO optimistic COVAX vaccines can cover 20% of Philippine population this year

Officials are also "using our diplomatic relations with different countries" like China and Russia, he said.

"We are asking that we can have access [to] their vaccines this April and May," he added.

The global vaccine supply, he said, might ease in July or August, when countries manufacturing COVID-19 shots have inoculated at least half of their people.

The Philippines has received 2.525 million vaccine doses, including 2 million from China's Sinovac Biotech and the rest, Astrazeneca shots from COVAX.

At least 668,018 health care workers so far have received their first of two COVID-19 shots, Malacañang said. The government aims to inoculate 70 million people this year. Health experts say a surge in infections underscores the need to expedite the national vaccination drive.

The country recorded 10,016 new infections on Monday, bringing the overall tally to 731,894, with deaths at 13,186, one of the highest caseloads in Asia.

— With reports from Jamaine Punzalan, ABS-CBN News; Reuters

Video courtesy of PTV