US Dollar Climbs to One-Year High as Fed Rate Hike Expectations Surge 
Fortescue Faces Class Action Over Sexual Harassment Claims at Australian Mining Sites 
Asian Stocks Slide as AI Rally Pauses, South Korean Chipmakers Lead Regional Decline 
Oil Prices Slip as Iran Sanctions Relief and Hormuz Shipping Recovery Ease Supply Concerns 
Bain Capital Nears Deal for Majority Stake in Volkswagen Marine Engine Unit Everllence 
Bessent Says U.S. Must Strengthen Supply Chains and Economic Security 
KPMG Australia Chairman and Senior Partners Exit Amid Escalating Whistleblower Scandal 
Alibaba Shares Fall After Anthropic Alleges Massive AI Model Distillation Campaign 
Meta Pauses Employee Activity Tracking Program Over Data Security Concerns 
Tencent Reviews Marvelous Stake as Gaming Giant Reassesses Global Investment Strategy 
Anthropic AI Model Uncovers Vulnerabilities in Classified U.S. Government Systems During Security Test 
Wall Street Ends Mixed as Tech Stocks Struggle Ahead of Micron Earnings 
White House Seeks $87.6 Billion Emergency Funding for Iran War, Farmers, and Ebola Response 
Tesla and NatPower Partner on $5 Billion Battery Storage Expansion in Europe 
Trump Requests $11 Billion More in Farm Aid as Rising Costs Pressure U.S. Farmers 
Oil Prices Drop as Strait of Hormuz Shipping Recovers 
Alphabet Replaces Verizon in Dow Jones Industrial Average 
Pfizer-BioNTech was said to have won a contract with the Philippines for the supply of the COVID-19 vaccine. It was reported that the country just signed a deal with the American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company for 40 million doses of the vaccines.
The Philippines and Pfizer deal for coronavirus shots
As per Reuters, this is so far the biggest order of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine from the Philippines. Secretary Carlito Galvez, the National Task Force chief against coronavirus, announced the deal with Pfizer on Sunday, June 20, and revealed that deliveries could be expected to begin in August.
In addition to this new order from Pfizer-BioNTech, the Philippines has now secured the delivery of 113 million doses of vaccine from five suppliers that include China's Sinovac (26 million doses), Moderna (20 million), Russia's Sputnik V (10 million) and AstraZeneca (17 million).
The vaccine supply in Manila is still limited and in some provinces, the government recorded a surge in COVID-19 cases, which complicates efforts to work up on the immunization drive. But with the upcoming Pfizer supply, officials are hoping that it will reach more people and eventually lessen the cases.
“We are very happy to report that the government and the management of Pfizer have finally concluded our negotiations, Philippine News Agency quoted Galvez as saying. “Health Secretary Francisco Duque and I signed yesterday (Saturday, June 19) the supply agreement for the biggest and most decisive deal we had for 2021.”
More vaccine jabs for the Filipinos
Galvez added that 20 million Filipinos will benefit from this Pfizer COVID-19 supply deal. The Philippines is not just waiting for deliveries from the American biotech company, but it is also expecting deliveries from the COVAX facility. In addition, a total of 16 million doses are coming from Jonhson & Johnson and Novavax as well.
Meanwhile, the Philippines will be allowing the administration of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines to youngsters ages 12 to 15. Their inoculation may begin later this year once the vaccine inventory expands and the priority group’s vaccinations are completed.
