More than 240,000 AstraZeneca vaccines to be sent nationwide this week — Galvez

(FILE) Medical workers from the Ospital ng Paranaque inspect the first batch of Astrazeneca vaccine during a ceremonial vaccination after the British-Swede made vaccine arrived in the country last Thursday. The country is expected to receive about 5.5 million to 9.2 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses this year through the WHO-led COVAX facility. INQUIRER/ MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

MANILA, Philippines — More than 240,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccines developed by British-Swede firm AstraZeneca will be sent to all regions this week, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said Sunday.

Galvez said 54,500 doses of the vaccine have already been deployed in Metro Manila, Region 4-A or Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon), the Cordillera Administrative Region, and Region 3 or Central Luzon.

“We are expecting more than 200,000 na AstraZeneca ang maidedeploy natin (will be sent) nationwide,” Galvez said in an interview over state-run People’s Television Network.

“For this week, to all regions, magdedeploy po tayo ng (we will be sending) 240,720,” he added.

The Philippines on Sunday night received 38,400 more AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines from the World Health Organization-led COVAX facility.

On March 4, the country already received 487,200 vaccine doses of the same brand.

/MUF