MVP Group procures 800,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses for its employees and their household members

The Manuel V. Pangilinan (MVP) Group has procured 800,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines for their personnel as well as their household members, 750,000 doses of which are from Moderna and 50,000 from AstraZeneca.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) and PLDT Inc. have around 55,000 employees.

“We have offered to all our employees these vaccines. It’s a voluntary offer so it’s not compulsory on our employees,” said Pangilinan at their recent virtual annual stockholders’ meeting.

Pangilinan also said MPIC remains keen on the local production of vaccines against Covid-19 but aims to produce a vaccine brand preferred by Filipinos and is open to partner with global vaccine producers to manufacture Covid-19 vaccines in the Philippines.

“As a matter of principle, Metro Pacific is interested in the local manufacture of vaccines and also like the boosters that would follow the vaccine application. That’s the general point we wish to make,” said Pangilinan.

Pangilinan revealed that the company has had initial discussions with Filipino pharmaceutical firm, Glovax Biotech, for the local production of Covid-19 vaccines.

The vaccine presented by Glovax, however, was one that they were not familiar with and not in the approved list of Covid-19 vaccines of the government.

Glovax is currently partnering with Korean firm Eubiologics for the local production of EuCorVac-19, a next-generation Covid-19 vaccine developed in the United States by POP Biotechnologies.

“We’re seeing particular brands that are preferred by Filipinos in terms of vaccines that they would like to have. So we’re probably gravitating with those vaccines as a general point,” said Panglinan.

SOURCE: PNA