China delivers additional batch of Sinovac vaccines to Philippines

MANILA, June 17 (Xinhua) -- China sustained the COVID-19 vaccines supply to the Philippines with the delivery of an additional batch of Sinovac CoronaVac on Thursday.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque, who received the vaccines at the airport in Manila, said the arrivals of Sinovac vaccines help the Philippines achieve immunity.

China donated the first batch of CoronaVac to the Philippines on Feb. 28, allowing the Southeast Asian country to kick off its vaccination drive on March 1.

The DOH has administered nearly 7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, primarily to frontline healthcare workers, the elderly, and those with underlying medical conditions. The country aims to vaccinate up to 70 million people this year, depending on the supply.

Last week, the DOH started inoculating frontline economic workers to bring the economy back on track.

The Philippines has reported 1,332,832 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday, including 23,121 deaths.