FILE PHOTO: Vials with a sticker reading, “COVID-19 / Coronavirus vaccine / Injection only” and a medical syringe are seen in front of a displayed AstraZeneca logo in this illustration taken October 31, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
MANILA, Philippines — Following a delay, 487,200 doses ofCovid-19 vaccines developed by British-Swede pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca will arrive in the Philippines on Thursday, March 4, Malacañang said Wednesday.
“This is to confirm that the Philippines is set to receive 487,200 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines tomorrow, March 4, 2021, 7:30 PM, as part of the first round of allocated doses from the COVAX facility,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement.
Some 525,600 doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccines were supposed to arrive in the Philippines on Monday, March 1, but encountered delay due to “supply problems.”
President Rodrigo Duterte will personally witness the arrival of AstraZeneca vaccines from the World Health Organization-led COVAX facility, Roque earlier said.
The Philippines is expected to receive at least 5.6 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca via the COVAX facility within the first quarter of 2021.
The country started on Monday its mass vaccination program to beat the further spread of Covid-19, following the delivery of 600,000 doses of Sinovac Biotech’s vaccine, CoronaVac, donated by the Chinese government.