The plane with 739,200 Sinopharm vials is the first shipment of the one million-dose donation by the Chinese government. The rest will be delivered on Saturday.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 20)— The country added over a million COVID-19 vaccine doses to its supply with new shipments from AstraZeneca and Sinopharm on Friday.
President Rodrigo Duterte welcomed the arrival of the donated vaccines via teleconference — where he thanked China and its president Xi Jinping for the continued assistance amid the pandemic.
“My deepest gratitude goes to China for the various COVID-19 assistance extended in the past including the donation of vital medical supplies and equipment and the provision to technical support of COVID-19 response,” Duterte said.
Towards the end of his speech, Duterte — addressing the East Asian giant — said the Philippines will “stay neutral and remain true to what we have guaranteed China” during his term.
Meanwhile, Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian said nearly 10 million doses of China’s vaccines are scheduled to arrive in the country this month.
AstraZeneca for LGUs, private sector
Earlier in the day, a shipment of 582,500 AstraZeneca doses procured by local government units and the private sector also arrived.
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Benhur Abalos said 80% of the doses will be distributed to 39 LGUs while 20% will go to businesses.
Over 41% of Metro Manila’s target population has already been fully vaccinated, National Task Force Against COVID-19 deputy chief implementer Vince Dizon said on Thursday.
