Philippines to get 2.2 million Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine next week

The Philippines will get 2.2 million COVID-19 shots from Pfizer-BioNTech next week through vaccine-sharing COVAX Facility, an official leading the inoculation strategy said on Tuesday. 

The Pfizer doses will arrive "in bulk" on June 11, said Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., chief implementer of the National Task Force Against COVID-19. 

The batch will be used to inoculate priority sectors including health workers, the elderly, and people with comorbities, he said in a public briefing.

Authorities will take delivery of at least 3.4 million COVID-19 shots in June, Palace spokesman Harry Roque said on Monday. 

Pfizer, a US multinational firm, is the second most preferred COVID-19 vaccine brand by Filipinos, a recent survey by the Social Weather Stations showed. 

• Philippines: COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker

Long lines at an inoculation center that offered Pfizer shots earlier this month prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to ban local governments from announcing the brand of vaccines available at a given facility.

The Philippines earlier received about 193,000 Pfizer jabs.