China donates COVID-19 vaccine to the Philippines
- 28 Feb 2021
Gulf Today Report
The Philippines received the first batch of COVID-19 vaccine from China on Sunday
The donated doses from China arrived a day before the Philippines kicked off its national inoculation campaign.
The 600,000 doses of Sinovac Biotech’s Coronavac was delivered by a Chinese military aircraft.
The Philippines will be receiving another 25 million doses of CoronaVac in batches this year.
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The vaccination campaign will begin with health care workers, police and military personnel.
President Rodrigo Duterte thanked China for the "gesture of friendship and solidarity - the hallmark of Philippines-China partnership."
The Philippines has also negotiated vaccine supply deals with other manufacturers, seeking to secure up to 148 million doses so it can inoculate 70 million people or two-thirds of its population.
Despite the vaccine arrival, however, there is little public support for the inoculation drive. One opinion poll showed that less than a third of Filipinos are willing to get vaccinated as they worry about potential side effects.
