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1.5M Sinovac vaccine doses procured by Philippine government arrive

A total of 1.5 million doses of CoronaVac, the COVID-19 vaccine from Sinovac, arrived in the Philippines on Saturday morning.

The vaccines were on Cebu Pacific Flight 5J671 from Beijing which landed at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 at 8:01 a.m., according to GMA News reporter Mai Bermudez.

The 1.5 million doses were procured by the government.

"This is Cebu Pacific’s second shipment this week and it is a good indication of the collaborative efforts between the government and private sector to fight COVID-19. We are grateful to Cebu Pacific and other carriers for their contribution in the safe and timely distribution of these vaccines," National Task Force Against COVID-19 Chief Implementer and vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez, Jr. said in a statement from the airline.

Dr. Ariel Valencia, director of the Procurement and Supply Chain Management Team of the Department of Health, was at NAIA to oversee the arrival of the vaccines, according to a report by Bermudez on Dobol B TV.

Valencia said the vaccines will be distributed to local government units after a certificate of analysis is issued for the shipment.

The vaccines will be brought to Pharmaserv, a cold storage in Marikina City, from NAIA. —KG, GMA News