Duque on arrival of AstraZeneca vaccines: ‘The long wait is finally over’

Screengrab from Kapihan sa Manila Bay video interview.

MANILA, Philippines — “The long days and nights of waiting are finally over.”

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III has this to say following the arrival to the Philippines of 487,200 doses of Covid-19 vaccine from British-Swede pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca.

“These vaccines will be of great help to our valiant healthcare workers who have been at the forefront of the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said in a statement.

“With every dose that we will administer, we are inching towards a safer recovery from this pandemic. So, let us put our trust in science, in vaccines,” he added.

The first shipment of Covid-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca, which were coursed through the global vaccine sharing scheme Covax Facility, arrived in the Philippines on Thursday night.

The plane carrying the vaccine doses landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport past 7 p.m.

The shipment was later towed to Villamor Air Base where government officials, including President Rodrigo Duterte, welcomed its arrival.

The vaccines were supposed to arrive on March 1, but the delivery was delayed due to a shortage in global supply.

The AstraZeneca vaccine is the second brand of Covid-19 vaccine that arrived in the country, following the delivery of 600,000 doses of Sinovac Biotech’s vaccine that were donated by the government of China last Sunday.

JPV