Given the storage requirements of Sputnik V, the first to get these Russian-made vaccines would be local governments that have proper storage facilities, the Department of Health (DOH) said Saturday.
Unlike the Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines that can be stored in facilities with the temperature at two to eight degrees Celsius, Sputnik V must be stored in a dark place at a temperature not exceeding -18 degrees Celsius.
“So ito pong ganitong klaseng storage ay hindi po natin makikita sa lahat ng ating mga lugar sa Pilipinas. Kaya pagdating po ng Sputnik V, mayroon lang po tayong mga assigned local governments that will receive because they have the capability to store this kind of vaccines (This kind of storage is not available in all parts of the country. So when it comes to Sputnik V, we have assigned local governments that will receive because they have the capability to store this kind of vaccines,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a Laging Handa briefing.
The first tranche of Sputnik V vaccines is expected to arrive in Manila on April 28.
Vergeire said the distribution is likely to be focused on areas under NCR Plus bubble where there is a spike in Covid-19 infections.
By early May 2021, a total of 500,000 Sputnik V will be delivered to the country, and eventually about 20 million doses before 2021 ends.
Philippine Ambassador in Moscow Carlos Sorreta earlier said Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute is keen to manufacture the shots locally by partnering with Philippine firms.
“The discussion with private entities in the Philippines continues on this. This will have to be in partnership with the private sector,” he said in a Malacanang briefing last April 20.
“Gamaleya knows that we have great technicians and medical experts when it comes to pharmaceuticals and production. They’re known around the world as — many of our front-liners are at the frontlines of developing vaccines. They know this, and they already have production agreements with many countries that there are models for this,” he added. (PNA)
