Philippines' COVID-19 cases near 569,000

The Philippines’ coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caseload hit 568,680 on Thursday after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 2,269 new infections, the third time in the past week that new cases breached 2,000.

Recoveries now total 524,042 after 738 more patients recovered from the respiratory disease, while the death toll climbed to 12,201 with 72 new fatalities.

There are also 32,437 active cases undergoing treatment or quarantine, 88.5% of which are mild, 0.78% are moderate, 6.1% are asymptomatic, 2.3% are severe, and 2.4% are in critical condition.

Earlier in the day, Malacañang announced that 600,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine developed by Chinese firm Sinovac will arrive in the country on Sunday. 

The Sinovac jab will be the first to be rolled out in the Philippines after it was approved for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday. 

Immunization experts are still discussing the allocation of the doses, 100,000 of which will go to employees and military personnel of the Department of National Defense, after the FDA said it was not recommended for health workers.

The Sinovac vaccine showed a 50.4% efficacy rate among health workers treating COVID-19 patients and 65.3% to 91.2% efficacy among healthy individuals aged 18 to 59.

The FDA clarified, however, that health workers can still get the Sinovac shot if they choose to. —LDF, GMA News