AstraZeneca vaccines set to arrive Thursday —Bong Go

The Philippines is expected to receive 487,200 doses of COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by AstraZeneca on Thursday evening, Senator Bong Go said on Wednesday.

In an interview with reporters, Go, a former close aide of President Rodrigo Duterte said the Philippines has received notice that the COVID-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca are finally arriving on Thursday evening.

The AstraZeneca vaccines were supposed to be delivered TO the country on Monday, but it was delayed due to limited supply.

"Yung hindi natuloy na pagpapadala ng bakuna nung Lunes mula sa AstraZeneca ay meron nang liham na darating na sana bukas ng gabi yung 487,200 doses," Go said.

Malacañang, meanwhile, confirmed the arrival of AstraZeneca vaccines, saying it is part of the COVAX Facility.

“This is to confirm that the Philippines is set to receive 487,200 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines tomorrow, March 4, 2021, 7:30PM, as part of the first round of allocated doses from the COVAX facility,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said.

COVAX is a global effort led by the World Health Organization (WHO) where wealthier nations pitch in to aid developing countries in battling COVID-19 pandemic, including access to COVID-19 vaccines.

“AstraZeneca’s expected time of arrival is based on the scheduled handover of vaccines.  We will notify everyone, if and when there is a change of schedule,” Roque said.

Duterte to welcome shipment

Go said he and Duterte will personally welcome the arrival of the AstraZeneca vaccines at Villamor Airbase at 7:30 p.m.

The Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted an emergency use authorization on AstraZeneca's vaccine. Based on its evaluation, AstraZeneca's vaccine has an efficacy rate of 70% after the first dose, a rate that will increase after the second dose is given after four to 12 weeks.

In a separate statement, Go said the arrival of the AstraZeneca vaccines serves as a "good news" to frontliners as they will now have another option other than Sinovac's CoronaVac vaccine.

"Sana po ay tuloy-tuloy na po ang pagro-rollout ng pagbabakuna at dapat nating kunin ang kumpyansa ng mamamayan na ang tanging solusyon, at ang tanging susi ay ang bakuna lamang para unti-unti na tayong makabalik sa normal nating pamumuhay," he said.

Sinovac

On Sunday, the Philippines received 600,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine from China's Sinovac Biotech.

The said vaccines were administered the following day, with Philippine General Hospital (PGH) director Dr. Gerardo Legaspi being the Philippines' first official recipient of a COVID-19 vaccine.

FDA director general Dr. Eric Domingo earlier said Sinovac’s efficacy ranged from 65.3% to 91.2%, but only reached 50.4% among health workers with COVID-19 exposure.

This makes it not recommended for health workers, he added.

“This should be administered by vaccination providers and to prevent COVID-19 in clinically healthy individuals aged 18 to 59 years old,” he also said.

Domingo later on clarified that health workers can still choose to get vaccinated with Sinovac since they merely made a recommendation on which groups it is not suited for.

The Philippines targets to inoculate 50 to 70 million individuals within the year. —KBK, GMA News