Philippines Receives 3 Million Moderna Vaccine Doses from US through COVAX

Manila: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has welcomed the arrival of 3 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccines from the US Government through the COVAX Facility, as the country braces for a hard lockdown in the capital Manila to stem the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19.
 
The most recent arrival brings the total of COVAX donations to the Philippines to 13.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines. 
 
Of these, 6 million doses were donated by the US Government as part of its global vaccine-sharing strategy, which aims to provide at least 80 million vaccine doses to countries most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We are thankful to the COVAX Facility and our partners from the US Government for these additional COVID-19 vaccines. As we implement a stricter quarantine classification in Metro Manila, we will continue to ramp up our national vaccination program and aim to increase coverage among our senior citizens and persons with underlying medical conditions. Vaccinating those in the high-risk group would help prevent the overwhelming of our hospitals," said Philippine Secretary of Health Francisco T. Duque III in a joint press release on Tuesday.
 
The Philippine Government has ramped up its vaccination campaign, reaching more than 500,000 inoculations daily. 
 
Since March 2021, over 84 percent of healthcare workers (A1 group), 32 percent of senior citizens (A2 group), and 48 percent of people with comorbidities are fully vaccinated. 
 
However, less than 5 percent of essential workers (A4 group) and 2 percent of the indigent population (A5 group) have been fully inoculated.
 
The Philippine Department of Health announced its accelerated vaccination plan during the hard lockdown, which includes strict scheduling/pre-registration, alternative modes of transportation for vaccines, and special lanes for A2 and A3 population.
 
“The WHO commends the US government for its efforts to share COVID-19 vaccines and facilitate their equitable distribution around the world. We especially express our appreciation to the US for sharing vaccines with the Philippines. Equitable global distribution of safe and effective vaccines is the only way to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic and we encourage other countries to also support COVAX through the sharing of vaccines,” said Dr Rabindra Abeyasinghe, WHO Representative to the Philippines.

 
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