Philippines receives 1M more Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine doses

One million more doses of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine arrived in the Philippines on Wednesday morning, boosting the country's supply.

The latest batch of Sinovac vaccine doses arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 in Pasay City at 7:35 a.m., according to Mao dela Cruz's report on Dobol B TV.

The batch arrived via Cebu Pacific Flight 5J 671 and was welcomed by vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. and other health officials.

Based on Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) evaluation of Sinovac's vaccine, it has the following efficacy rates:

• 65% to 91% among healthy individuals aged 18 to 59,
• 50.4% for health workers, and
• 51% to 52% on senior citizens or those aged 60 and above
• Sinovac's vaccine is given in two doses

The Philippines officially rolled out its vaccination program on March 1 but it has been hampered by supply problems. 

More arrivals in July

According to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, the country is expecting around 10 million COVID-19 vaccine doses from different manufacturers this month.

"Hanggang sa katapusan ng buwang ito ay makatatanggap tayo ng mga bakunang ating inaasahan. It will be worth around 10 million doses ang parating hanggang matapos ang buwang ito," she said in an interview on Unang Balita.

Aside from Sinovac, other brands expected to arrive in the country this month are Sputnik V, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

On Thursday afternoon, 250,800 doses of Moderna vaccine doses, including those purchased by the private sector, will arrive in the country. 

In a statement, Cebu Pacific said with the latest shipment, the country has hit the 10-million-mark on the number of doses flown from China since April 2021.

"We are thankful for another shipment of vaccines to the country, and we appreciate the efforts of Cebu Pacific and other carriers in continuously supporting our country’s vaccine distribution," Galvez was quoted as saying in the statement.

All transported vaccines were subject to the most stringent standards and kept in temperature-specific refrigerated containers to maintain product integrity, the airline said. —KBK, GMA News