by Raadee Sausa March 3, 2021 The first batch of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines doses from Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac arri...
March 3, 2021
The first batch of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines doses from Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac arrived on February 28, 2021, an official said on Thursday.
The Sinovac shots arrived in the Philippines on Sunday, Palace spokesman Harry Roque said. Officials are expected to welcome the arrival of the jabs in person, he told reporters in an online briefing.
"Maraming salamat po muli sa Sinovac at sa Tsina. [Thank you very much again to Sinovac and China]," he said.
Authorities earlier said China would donate 600,000 COVID-19 shots through Beijing-based Sinovac, which received its emergency use authorization in the Philippines this week.
Economic frontliners and soldiers are on top of the priority list to get the Sinovac shots, Roque said on Wednesday.
The lack of an indemnification deal, which settles who should pay for adverse vaccine effects, has delayed the arrival of 117,000 COVID-19 shots from Pfizer, which vaccine-sharing COVAX Facility was initially expected to send in mid-February.
The Philippines, which has Southeast Asia's second highest COVID-19 cases, has lagged behind its regional neighbors in launching its vaccination drive. The government aims to vaccine up to 70 million people or two-thirds of the population this year.
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