MANILA, PHILIPPINES
The vaccines will come a day after Sinovac’s CoronaVac arrives in the country.
The Philippines will receive 525,600 doses of vaccines developed by British drugmaker AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford on Monday, March 1, Presidential Spokesperson confirmed on Saturday, February 27.
The vaccines are part of the first round of allocated doses from the COVAX facility, from which the Philippines is entitled to 44 million COVID-19 vaccine doses. (READ: What is COVAX and why does it matter for getting vaccines to developing nations?)
“We thank the World Health Organization (WHO), the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) towards this end,” Roque said.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorizationfor AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine on January 28.
This is the second batch of vaccines expected to arrive in the country. The government previously announced that it is expecting on Sunday, February 28, 600,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines.
The arrivals of vaccines were announced after the government signed indemnification agreements for COVAX vaccines on February 17. Officials had earlier cited indemnification requirements as a cause of delay in the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines in the country.
The Philippines lags behind its Southeast Asian neighbors, such as Myanmar, Indonesia, Singapore, and Cambodia, in its COVID-19 vaccination program. – Rappler.com
