PH gets first shipment of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine

The first shipment of Moderna vaccines was unloaded at NAIA on Sunday, June 27, 2021. (Photo from the National Task Force Against COVID-19)

MANILA, Philippines — The first shipment of Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, consisting of 249,600 doses, arrived in the Philippines late Sunday night.

The doses were unloaded at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 before 11 p.m.

Of the total doses, 150,000 were procured by the government and 99,600 were bought by the private sector, led by International Container Terminal Services, Inc., according to the National Task Force Against COVID-19 (NTF).

This is the second shipment of vaccine doses to be delivered in the Philippines with an allocation for the private sector after the arrival earlier this month of doses of Coronavac, which was developed by Chinese drug firm Sinovac BioTech.

The Philippines procured at least 20 million doses of Moderna vaccines — 13 million by the government and seven million by the private sector. All 20 million doses are expected to arrive within the year, NTF said.

Vaccine brands currently available in the country are Moderna, Pfizer, Sinovac, Sputnik V and AstraZeneca.

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