500,000 more Sinovac doses arrive

An additional 500,000 doses of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines made by Sinovac arrived in the Philippines on Sunday afternoon.

According to flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL), the vaccines were on board flight PR359 from Beijing, using the A330 aircraft.

The shipments arrived 5:10 p.m. on Sunday and were welcomed by vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr, as reported on GMA's "24 Oras Weekend" on Sunday.

The additional doses will be stored in a facility in Marikina, before making their way to the Visayas and Mindanao regions to be given to healthcare workers.

The Philippines procured some 25 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine, of which 1 million were received in March. 

Prior to the first batch of vaccines procured, the Philippines received 1 million doses of Sinovac vaccines donated by the Chinese government, and 525,600 doses of AstraZeneca from the global aid initiative COVAX Facility.

Just last week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the inoculation of senior citizens with the Sinovac vaccine amid a shortage in vaccine supply.

A day after, the Philippines suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine on individuals younger than 60, following reports of rare blood clots with low platelet counts in some recipients overseas.

Prior to this, the FDA did not recommend Sinovac for senior citizens, saying it needed more data to prove its safety and effectiveness on the elderly.

According to COVID-19 policy chief implementer and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr., the Philippines targets to vaccinate some 50 to 70 million Filipinos this year, but several agencies have expressed doubts that this will be achieved. — BM, GMA News