400K more doses due from China; 9K Pinoys got jabs

PRESIDENT Duterte said on Thursday China will donate 400,000 more doses of Covid-19 vaccine for the government’s ongoing inoculation drive.

“China will give us another 400,000, making their donation to this country 1 million,” Duterte said in a speech for the inauguration of new school buildings in Valenzuela City.

Earlier, 600,000 doses of donated vaccines by Sinovac Biotech were airlifted to Manila by the Chinese government, arriving in the country on Sunday.

Earlier this week, chief implementer of the government’s national policy on Covid-19 and vaccine czar Carlito G. Galvez said the Chinese embassy already made another commitment to the Philippine government.

However, he said he will let the President make the announcement.

9,000 vaccinees

OVER 9,000 people have availed themselves of the free vaccines in the government’s ongoing nationwide immunization drive.

Citing data from the Department of Health (DOH), Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in an online press briefing that a total of 9,077 individuals were immunized using the 600,000 doses of Sinovac-biotech jabs from March 1 to 3, 2021.

Of the said doses, 100,000 are allocated for government uniformed personnel, while the remaining 500,000 will be used for the priority sector, particularly medical workers.

The vaccination centers that registered the highest number of vaccine recipients during the period are the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (2,361); University of the Philippines-philippine General Hospital (1,184); and all of the sites from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (1,510).

In a separate briefing, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said they expected more people will avail themselves of the Covid-19 vaccine, especially since they already registered 222,783 individuals on the masterlist of vaccine beneficiaries.

Prominent medical workers and several government officials, including Galvez and NTF deputy chief implementer and testing czar Vivencio Dizon, had themselves inoculated publicly to ensure the efficacy of the vaccine.

The government is targeting to inoculate 1.7 million healthcare workers in addition to 50,000 government uniformed personnel this month.

TOTO LOZANO/ MALACAÑANG PRESIDENTIAL PHOTOGRAPHERS DIVISION VIA AP PRESIDENT Duterte poses with Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian, as they stand in front of a military plane carrying Sinovac vaccines from China at the Villamor Air Base in Manila on Sunday, February 28, 2021. The Philippines received its first batch of Covid-19 vaccine Sunday, among the last in Southeast Asia to secure the critical doses despite having the second-highest number of coronavirus infections and deaths in the hard-hit region.