NMI seen to get 1st batch of COVID-19 vaccine in late Nov.

The CNMI is set to receive two sets of the vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE, which will protect most people from COVID-19.

Speaking at the radio news briefing yesterday, Esther Muña, Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. chief executive officer, stated that the initial round of vaccines will amount to a total of 2,000 doses and is expected to arrive in the CNMI around Nov. 23. The second batch, which will be about 12,000 to 15,000 doses, will be arriving around Dec. 14.

She quickly pointed out, though that these dates are just projections right now. “I want to emphasize that these are all projections and we are still communicating with [the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention] on the exact arrival of the vaccines. Obviously, shipping and production will determine what’s actually available for the CNMI,” she said.

Muña assured that the vaccines won’t cost a thing, except for an administrative fee that will be billed to insurance companies. “At the end of the day, the intent is not to charge anyone and no one should be paying for it,” said Muña.

She stated that the administration fee is for the cost of the health care workers who will be performing and vaccinating the public. When someone has insurance, CHCC will bill the insurance company, Muña said. For those who are not insured, that is something that “we will work with the government to ensure that somebody pays for the cost, which is the administration fee.”

Though nothing is official yet, Muña stated that the first 2,000 doses of the vaccine will be for health care workers and front-liners.

Muña made it clear that the distribution of the vaccine is still being talked about with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to Pfizer, the vaccine’s effectivity is at 90%.

Muña said the key is to “ensure that safety and efficacy” are there. Since the first round of vaccines will be primarily for health care workers and front-liners, she said the vaccine for the population as a whole will be coming in early next year.

In previous interviews, Muña had stated that the first round of vaccines after the front-liners and health care workers will be the high-risk population, and then on to the rest of the population.

The larger number of vaccines for the general population is projected to arrive in January, and then a second batch will be around February.

“As soon as we do the mass vaccination, we will be able to get more allocations,” said Muña. Once the CNMI has received the vaccinations from the manufacture, CHCC has to administer it within 10 days.

Editor’s Note: This story has been edited to add Esther Muna’s clarification that the dates she mentioned are still tentative at the moment.