The second shipment of Sinovac vaccines donated by China reached the Philippines on Wednesday, as cases of COVID-19 increase rapidly in the Southeast Asian country.
The Chinese Ambassador, Huang Xilian, handed over the vaccines to the Philippines.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque said the Philippines was “grateful for the arrival of this donation of additional vaccines.”
“The arrival of these vaccines could not have come at a more opportune time, given the continued increase in cases, which increases the need to vaccinate more people at high risk as soon as possible,” he said. -he says.
Carlito Galvez, in charge of the immunization program, said the arrival of these additional CoronaVac vaccines was “proof that when all nations work together, we can overcome any challenges ahead”.
“The Philippine government will continue to strengthen its collaboration with China to put a definitive end to this pandemic,” he added.
China delivered the first batch of CoronaVac to the Philippines on February 28, making it the first country to provide them with COVID-19 vaccines, allowing them to kick-start their vaccination program.
To date, the Philippines has 677,653 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 12,992 deaths.
The Southeast Asian country has approved the emergency use of Sinovac’s vaccines, as well as those developed by Pfizer and AstraZeneca, as well as Russia’s Sputnik V.
The government intends to vaccinate up to 70 million Filipinos this year in order to achieve herd immunity, starting with health workers, the elderly, and poor communities. The Philippines has a population of approximately 110 million.
