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MANILA - The manufacturer of COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin can allocate at least 10 million doses for the Philippines, an adviser to one of the local distributors said Tuesday.

India's Bharat Biotech and the state-run Indian Council of Medical Research developed Covaxin together, and it was approved by the country's drug regulator based on early and intermediate studies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was inoculated with the drug earlier this month.

• Modi takes home-grown vaccine as India widens immunization drive

Bharat Biotech reported last week that its vaccine has an interim vaccine efficacy of 81% in late-stage clinical trials. This analysis was based on the trial among 25,800 participants.

The company has applied for emergency use authorization in the Philippines last January.

• India’s Bharat Biotech applies for emergency use authorization in PH for its COVID-19 vaccine

Noel Miranda, scientific adviser to local company IP Biotech, said they are "working on 10 to 20 million doses that could be allocated for the Philippines alone throughout 2021 to 2022."

IP Biotech and Ambica International have an exclusive agreement with Bharat Biotech to distribute the Covaxin in the Philippines.

"We have kind of an access to an allocation of about 10 to 20 million and we want them to start coming in as soon as April," Miranda told ANC's Headstart.

Pressed if the number would be for 5 or 10 individuals receiving the 2 doses necessary, he said it would be "at least 10 million" and affirmed that he was pertaining to doses.

Bharat's website said Covaxin "is a 2-dose vaccination regimen given 28 days apart." It does not require sub-zero storage and reconstitution. It is in "ready to use liquid presentation in multi-dose vials, stable at 2-8 degrees Celsius."

A single dose of Covaxin would cost around $14, said Miranda.

"It’s not going to be far from Sinovac, but this is something to be negotiated as well. We are doing our best to come out with a good negotiation," he said.

The Philippines is currently building its vaccine portfolio in the hopes to vaccinate at least 70 percent of its population to achieve herd immunity against COVID-19. The country's Food and Drug Administration has so far granted EUA to the vaccines made by Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Sinovac.

The Department of Health reported 3,356 additional COVID-19 cases on Monday, bringing the total to 597,763. It was the fourth straight day that there were more than 3,000 new reported infections.

• PH logs more than 3,000 add’l cases for 4th straight day; total nears 598,000

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