Philippines receives 1 million Sinovac vaccine doses

The Philippines received one million doses of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, marking the first government-procured vaccine supply to arrive.

President Rodrigo Duterte, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr., and Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian welcomed the shipment at Villamor Airbase in Pasay City.

This shipment is the initial batch of the 25 million Sinovac doses the Philippine government contracted.

According to Vaccine Czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., 1.5 million Sinovac doses are expected in April, followed by 2 million in May and 4.5 million in June, with at least 3 million doses arriving monthly thereafter until December.

The previous two shipments of CoronaVac, totaling one million doses, had been donations from the Chinese government.

With this new arrival, the total number of vaccine doses in the country has surpassed 2.5 million.

Despite varying efficacy rates in clinical trials, the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group recommended the Sinovac vaccine's use, and President Duterte approved its deployment for health workers in high-COVID-19 case areas.