PAL will airlift 400,000 Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine doses from China to the Philippines, according to Locsin.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. announced that the Philippine Airlines (PAL) will airlift 400,000 Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine doses from China to the Philippines.
In a report on Manila Bulletin, Locsin announced that China planned to give an additional 400,000 doses of Sinovac’s CoronaVac vaccines to the Philippines through President Rodrigo Duterte as the nation battled the spread of the coronavirus disease.
The donation, according to Locsin, will be transported by the country’s flag carrier Philippine Airlines.
Previously, China donated 600,000 Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine doses to the Philippines as part of the two countries’ friendship and partnership in battling the pandemic.
The life-saving COVID-19 vaccines were delivered by a Chinese military cargo aircraft to Manila last February 28 and that paved the way for the vaccine rollout in the Philippines next day.
“China intends to donate 400,000 doses of CoronaVac to Rodrigo Duterte to be received under the same EUA (emergency use authorization) as the first donation plus a new EUA. @flyPAL will airlift the donations. Getting authority from (the) Palace to accept the donation,” Locsin tweeted on Saturday.
READ ALSO | President Duterte: China To Donate 400K More COVID-19 Vaccine Doses To PH
President Duterte first revealed about China’s offer to donate 400,000 coronavirus vaccines to the Philippines in his visit to Valenzuela City last March 4.
The President noted that China’s gesture would bring its total donated COVID-19 vaccines to one million.
President Duterte had expressed gratitude to China for sending COVID-19 vaccines to the Philippines, saying he planned to visit Beijing in order to personally thank Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Although Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines had arrived in the Philippines, President Duterte had publicly expressed preference for another Chinese-developed drug — Sinopharm.
President Duterte said that his doctor had advised him to wait for the vaccine that would be suitable for his age. Malacanang said that President Duterte was waiting for the emergency use approval (EUA) to be given to Sinopharm before getting inoculated.
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