Philippines welcomes first batch of Sputnik Light COVID-19 vaccine doses

The Philippines on Friday welcomed the first 5,000 doses of the single-shot Sputnik Light COVID-19 vaccine donated by the Russian government.

According to the National Task Force Against COVID-19, the plane carrying the latest batch of vaccine doses, which also includes 2,805,000 Sputnik V shots, landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 past 2 p.m.

The delivery came hours after the arrival of 1,306,000 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

The Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization for Sputnik Light on August 20.

According to the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Sputnik Light demonstrated 79.4% efficacy compared with 91.6% for the two-shot Sputnik V.

Vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. thanked the Russian government for facilitating the delivery of the vaccines.

Galvez said the 5,000 doses of Sputnik Light would be delivered to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

“Nakita natin 'yung BARMM ang medyo pinakababa almost 11% pa lang siya and tutukan natin 'yung BARMM this coming vaccination day,” he added.

(We saw that BARMM had the lowest vaccination rate. It is only almost 11%. And we will focus on BARMM this coming vaccination day.)

Government data showed on Thursday that close to 33 million Filipinos are now fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. The country was able to administer 1,154,131 COVID-19 doses on November 18.

The Philippines will conduct simultaneous vaccination activities from November 29 to December 1. — VBL, GMA News