It was just said that Pfizer will prioritize the Philippines,” Duque said in a phone interview. “They will be assessed again on a different set of parameters, such as cost-effectiveness, practicability of implementation,” Duque said. Duque said he was warned two weeks ago by Sen. Koko Pimentel III to “be careful” in ordering the Pfizer vaccine due to a lack of ultralow freezers in public health facilities. Sen. Panfilo Lacson, quoting Romualdez, said Locsin was referring to Duque after the health secretary failed to submit a CDA that would have allowed the deal to go through. She said the Chinese vaccine had a lower efficacy rate than the vaccine made by Pfizer or Moderna, another US pharmaceutical company.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer December 18, 2020 21:33 UTC