Over 2 million more doses of AstraZeneca vaccines from the COVAX Facility arrived in Manila, Philippines on 9 July 2021, bringing the total number of COVAX donations to the country to 7.056 million doses.
Welcoming the arrival of vaccines are Vaccine Czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr, DOH Undersecretary Ma. Carolina Vidal-Taino, UNICEF Philippines Representative Oyunsaikhan Dendevnorov, USAID Manila Acting Mission Director Sean Callahan, AstraZeneca Country President Lotis Ramin, and WHO Representative to the Philippines Dr Rabindra Abeyasinghe.
Photo: WHO/J Orbina
"These vaccines need to be used to fully vaccinate more people among the A1 to A3 groups who have received their first dose and also to extend protection to others from these groups in the coming weeks," said Dr Abeyasinghe.
"We commend LGUs who commit to meeting high vaccination coverage among the elderly and people with comorbidities, through prioritizing them and providing easy access. They are saving lives and protecting our senior citizens from severe illness and death,” he added.
The limited global supply of COVID-19 vaccines affects the vaccination rollout of a lot of countries. As many people remain unvaccinated, WHO reminds Filipinos to continue practicing physical distancing, mask wearing, hand washing, avoiding closed and crowded settings to protect themselves, their families and communities.
Thanks to the generous funding of its donors – from governments, private sector, philanthropic, and multilateral partners – the COVAX Facility aims to address vaccine equity so the most vulnerable in low- and middle-income countries are protected from COVID-19.
About COVAX
COVAX, the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, is co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the World Health Organization (WHO) – working in partnership with UNICEF as key implementing partner, as well as civil society organizations, vaccine manufacturers, the World Bank, and others.