Philippines gets 1M more Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines welcomed Wednesday 1,078,740 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine made by Pfizer-BioNTech.

The plane carrying the jabs arrived at Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport around 8 p.m.

The shipment made up the first batch of deliveries for the 2,394,990 Pfizer shots that the government purchased through the Asian Development Bank.

Early in Wednesday, the Philippines received 1.6 million doses of the AstraZeneca jab, which were donated by the French government.

Ted Herbosa, adviser of the National Task Force Against COVID-19, said the government has been receiving vaccines at a rate of two to three million almost every day.

“Our problem now is making sure they get out of storage. We need to inject them, otherwise the storages will be full,” Herbosa said.

NTF said the government’s national vaccination campaign is extended until Friday.

Latest data showed over 36.36 million Filipinos have completed the recommended doses, while more than 49.74 million individuals have received partial protection against COVID-19.  — Gaea Katreena Cabico