Department of Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said on Wednesday that the government has not yet decided if it will procure the second-generation vaccines against Covid-19 or bivalent vaccines against the Omicron variant.

Diokno said that the decision to get the vaccines is still in the works although there is already a recommendation from the Department of Health.

Previously, DoH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire disclosed that they are still in the process of negotiations with vaccine manufacturers Moderna and Pfizer regarding the procurement of the bivalent vaccines

Vergeire expected that by the end of this year or first quarter of 2023, the bivalent vaccines are available in the country.

Diokno, on the other hand, said that when the time comes that the Covid-19 vaccines are no longer under experimental status, it can be procured by the private sector.