Total COVID-19 vaccines doses delivered to the PHL reach over 12.5 million
(Eagle News) – The Philippines received the biggest shipment of vaccines against COVID-19 in a single day on Thursday, June 10, after the arrival of over 2.27 million Pfizer doses, and 1 million additional Sinovac doses, or a total of 3.27 million vaccine doses.
The 2,279,160 doses of Pfizer vaccines were also the biggest Pfizer shipment delivered to the country, coming from the World Health Organization (WHO) COVAX Facility. They arrived on Thursday night, June 10.
Early in the day, some 1 million doses of Sinovac vaccines were also delivered from China. This is the second Sinovac shipment this June. The first delivery was last Sunday, June 6, consisting of a million doses as well.
The arrival of the Pfizer and Sinovac doses from COVAX brings to over 12.5 million doses the vaccines against COVID-19 that have arrived in the country.
These two vaccine shipments that arrived on Thursday, meant a total of 3,279,160 arrived in the country that day alone. This is the biggest single day vaccine delivery in the country so far.
Total Sinovac doses now reached 7.5 million comprising the bulk of the country’s vaccine supplies. Pfizer doses in the country are now 2,472,210. These shipments boosted the country’s vaccine supplies as the government started vaccinating A4 workers or economic front liners.
Vaccine Czar, Secretary Carlito Galvez, Jr., said the vaccines were immediately deployed to areas with cold storage facilities. He said that of the 2.27 million Pfizer doses, some 1.9 million doses would be transported to Metro Manila, Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, and Cavite, and other areas that have high cases of COVID-19. Metro Davao and Metro Cebu, on the other hand, would get 210,600 doses.
The Pfizer doses allocated for Luzon would be distributed to Metro Manila, Laguna, Rizal, Bulacan, Pampanga, Batangas, Baguio City, and other areas with “third-party solutions” for the temperature requirement of the Pfizer vaccine doses.
“So we advise local government units to acquire third-party providers so that all the warehouses are equipped with the ultra-low cold chain solution. We limit only those areas where the electricity is stable. Pfizer is very sensitive (it must be stored) at -80 degrees, so we will only deploy it on areas that we have a stable cold chain solution,” Galvez said in a media interview.
The Department of Health said that the prioritization of the A1, A2, A3, and A5 groups would be followed as mandated by the COVAX Facility.
-Sinovac vaccines for A4 group-
The Sinovac Coronavac vaccines are the only vaccines that can be used for the A4 sector or the economic frontliners, as the other COVAX deliveries consisting of AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Sputnik V are covered by guidelines that restrict their administration to the A1 (health care workers and their family members), A2 (elderly or senior citizens) and A3 (those with comorbidities) priority groups.
Aside from the 7.5 million Sinovac doses, and the 2.47 million Pfizer doses, there were 2,556,000 AstraZeneca doses and 80,000 Sputnik V doses that have been delivered so far in the country.
WHO Representative to the Philippines Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe, UNICEF Philippines Representative Oyunsaikhan Dendevnorov and Chargé d’Affaires John C. Law from the US Embassy in the Philippines were also present during the arrival of the 2.27 million Pfizer doses on Thursday night, along with Health chief Duque and vaccine czar Galvez.
(Eagle News Service)
