According to SunStar MANILA, the Philippines on April 22, 2021, took delivery of an additional 500,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
This is the third batch of Sinovac vaccines procured by the government.
Philippine Airlines (PAL) spokersperson Cielo Villaluna announced that PAL flight PR359 from Beijing, China arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 5:16 p.m. April 22.
As of April 22, the Philippines has received a total of 3.0 million doses of Sinovac’s inactivated vaccine and 525,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Of the 3.0 million doses of Sinovac, 1.0 million was donated by China while the rest were procured by the Philippines.
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SunStar MANILA says, the AstraZeneca vaccines were donated through the Covax facility, the global initiative that ensures vaccine equity and subsidizes the vaccine supply for 92 low to middle-income countries, including the Philippines.
As of April 20, more than 1.35 million individuals have received their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine in the country.
Of this number, 209,456 have also received their second and final dose, the Department of Health (DOH) reported earlier.
SunStar MANILA mentions, a total of 1,562,563 doses have been administered across the country since the vaccinations began on March 1, a day after the first Sinovac shipment arrived.
The DOH also said all the 3,025,600 doses that arrived earlier have been distributed to 3,263 vaccination sites nationwide.
The government’s Covid-19 vaccination program currently prioritizes Groups A1 (health workers), A2 (senior citizens) and A3 (persons with comorbidities).
The target is to inoculate up to 70 million Filipinos this year, or about 65 percent of the Philippine population.
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