Around 56,000 medical frontliners and hospital staff in referral hospitals for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) will be the first in line to get vaccinated with the 117,000 Pfizer vaccine doses that will be supplied through the COVAX facility and will arrive in the Philippines this month.

The COVAX facility is a project of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar announced this during the Pagdu-aw sa Butuan City: Explain, Explain, Explain Town Hall Meeting in the city on Tuesday.

“As we move forward this 2021, the government is set to roll out the national Covid-19 vaccination program this month with an initial target of 56,000 healthcare workers in fourreferral hospitals in Metro Manila. Next in line will be healthcare workers in other Covid-19 referral hospitals in Metro Manila, Cebu City, and Davao City,” he said in Filipino.

There are already four proposed referral hospitals in Metro Manila for the first tranche of inoculation. These are the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in Manila, Lung Center of the Philippines and East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City, and Dr. Jose Natalio Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center (Tala Hospital) in Caloocan City.

He stressed that the government will still prioritize health workers, senior citizens, and uniformed personnel for the vaccination.

The PCOO chief further said the national government has already signed term sheets with five vaccine companies, which will assure delivery of up to 108 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccines this year.

“The government does not have any policy which favors a specific vaccine brand or country from which it originates. Through the signed term sheets with five pharmaceutical companies, we have ensured to receive up to 108 million doses this year,” he said in Filipino.