US donates 3.2M J&J vaccine doses to PH

Over 3.2 million doses of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine are expected to arrive in the Philippines this week, donated by the US government through the COVAX facility.

These J&J doses are allocated for island provinces and areas in Visayas and Mindanao, as well as senior citizens and individuals with comorbidities in remote areas, due to their single-dose convenience.

This shipment will mark the first delivery of Johnson & Johnson vaccines to the country.

Meanwhile, one million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine donated by Japan will be distributed to the NCR Plus 8 areas, with 1.5 million doses reserved for second doses and 500,000 for nationwide use.

Vaccine czar Secretary Galvez has also ordered the direct deployment of COVID-19 vaccines to Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi provinces due to their porous borders and the increasing presence of the Delta variant in neighboring countries.

The government is aiming to fully vaccinate 7 million people by the end of July, including 3 million who received the single-dose J&J vaccine.

The Philippines expects to have administered at least 14 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of July, with a target of 300,000 to 400,000 daily jabs.