Philippine defense dep't to get Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines from China

All employees and military personnel of the Department of National Defense (DND) will receive the 100,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines from Sinovac that were donated by China, DND said on Tuesday.

In a statement, DND added that it will begin the inoculation upon the delivery of these vaccines.

“The DND is set to begin its inoculation drive for its employees upon the delivery of the 100,000 doses donated to the DND by China through Chinese Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe,” it said.

The vaccines will also be administered to all the employees and military personnel assigned to DND’s civilian bureaus like the Office of Civil Defense, Government Arsenal, National Defense College of the Philippines and the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office, as well as the civilian employees of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

Their family members are also eligible to receive the vaccines, according to the DND.

"The intent is to vaccinate everyone who is in the same working environment and those living in the same households as our employees," DND spokesperson Director Arsenio R. Andolong said.

"It is crucial that all must be vaccinated to allow us to create a 'bubble' of an immunized workforce,” he added.

DND noted that AFP’s uniformed personnel will be inoculated under a different vaccination rollout plan.

Earlier, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said 600,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine from Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac are set to arrive in the country on Tuesday.

Of which, he said 100,000 doses were donated by the Chinese government to the DND.

On Monday, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director General Eric Domingo announced that Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine has been granted emergency use authorization.

He said that Sinovac’s efficacy ranged from 65.3% to 91.2%, but only reached 50.4% among health workers with COVID-19 exposure.

Due to this, he said the vaccine is not recommended for health workers. -NB, GMA News