FILE PHOTO: A health worker shows a vial of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as Thailand start a mass inoculation at a gymnasium inside the Thammasat University in Pathum Thani, Thailand June 7, 2021. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/File Photo
MANILA, Philippines — British-Swede pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca confirmed on Thursday that one million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine are planned for delivery to the Philippines this July.
AstraZeneca said it is on track to deliver over 16 million vaccine doses to the Philippines and will support the delivery of millions more through the COVAX Facility, a global initiative that aims to ensure equitable access to limited anti-COVID shots.
To date, over 2.5 million doses of the vaccine have been delivered to the country.
“AstraZeneca remains committed to working with COVAX and other global supply networks to ensure people have broad, equitable access to vaccines, regardless of where they live,” Lotis Ramin, Country President of AstraZeneca in the Philippines, said in a statement.
“The latest delivery estimates for the Philippines demonstrate our continuing partnership with COVAX, the national government, Department of Health, local government units, and the private sector, working together to help heal the nation. We look forward to continuing this collaborative effort to make an even greater impact in the country’s total efforts against the pandemic,” she added.
The company said close to 30 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine have so far been delivered across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
AstraZeneca said its vaccine has been shown to be “well-tolerated” and “highly effective” against severe COVID-19 in clinical trials. It added that real-world evidence also showed that the vaccine reduces severe disease and hospital admissions by more than 80 percent after the first dose.
AstraZeneca said its product has likewise demonstrated a high level of protection against the Delta and Alpha variants, and was 92 percent effective against hospitalization due to the Delta variant.
Over 600 million doses of the vaccine have been released for supply to 168 countries globally.
Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. earlier said that the one million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine are among the 13.3 million vaccine doses expected to be delivered in the country in July.
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