China donates more COVID-19 vaccines to Philippines

China's Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian (3rd L) and Carlito Galvez (3rd R), the chief implementer of Philippine government's measures to combat COVID-19, are seen with officials from the Philippine government in front of cargos containing Sinovac vaccines in Pasay City, the Philippines, Oct. 24, 2021. China donated another batch of Sinovac CoronaVac vaccines to the Philippines on Sunday to support the country's COVID-19 vaccination campaign. The donation arrived in Manila along with the vaccines of the same brand that the Philippines purchased from China. (Rouelle Umali/Xinhua)

MANILA, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- China donated another batch of Sinovac CoronaVac vaccines to the Philippines on Sunday to support the country's COVID-19 vaccination campaign.

The donation arrived in Manila along with the vaccines of the same brand that the Philippines purchased from China.

In a brief statement to reporters at the airport, Chinese ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian said the fresh vaccine delivery "demonstrates the kind of friendship from the Chinese government and people" to the Philippines.

Huang expressed hope that the vaccines from China would further contribute to bringing down the cases in the Philippines and speeding up the country's recovery.

"We are happy to see that the number of confirmed cases in this country is decreasing due to very hard and professional workings of the Philippine government and the people," Huang said.

The Philippine officials thanked China for its "continuing generosity and very important support" as the country ramps up its vaccination and grapples with the pandemic.

"We would like to thank China for the donation of lifesaving vaccines to the Philippines," said Carlito Galvez, the chief implementer of Philippine government's measures to combat COVID-19.

Galvez recalled that China was the first country to donate and deliver the vaccines to the Philippines in February, noting that Sunday's shipment is the 100th the country has ever received and coincidentally it is also the Chinese donation.

China has sustained the COVID-19 vaccine supply to the Philippines since the first delivery on Feb. 28, allowing the Southeast Asian country to kick off its vaccination drive on March 1.

The Philippines has administered over 55 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines. More than 25 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated. The government aims to vaccinate up to 70 million people this year.

To date, the Philippines has received more than 97.67 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from different vaccine makers. China remains the country's biggest vaccine supplier.

The Philippines now has more than 2.75 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 41,793 deaths.