MANILA, Philippines — There are so far 8,559 individuals in the Philippines who are vaccinated against COVID-19, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said Thursday.
“As of yesterday, a total of 8,559 individuals have received the first doses of the Sinovac vaccine, which were administered from March 1 to March 3 in 32 different sites in the National Capital Region,” Nograles said in an online briefing.
The Philippines began its COVID-19 vaccination program after receiving 600,000 doses of Sinovac’s vaccine, CoronaVac, donated by the Chinese government.
Of the 600,000 doses, Nograles said 189,600 have already been delivered in various vaccination centers across the country.
“At this point, we acknowledge that we have countrymen who still have reservations about receiving vaccines; but we believe that our kababayan should take their cue from the doctors, nurses, and medical personnel who have received the first doses of the vaccine,” Nograles said.
Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. earlier said the government is eyeing to vaccinate all health workers in the country within this month.
The Philippines expects to receive on Thursday night 487,200 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines donated from the World Health Organization-led COVAX facility.