Japan donating 1 million AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines to the Philippines — envoy

Japan's envoy to Manila on Tuesday announced that his government is donating one million AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines to the Philippines and are expected to be delivered early next month.

"One step closer to the Philippines’ goal of herd immunity? Count us in! One million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines from Japan are expected to arrive in Manila tentatively on July 8," Ambassador Koshikawa Kazuhiko said on Twitter.

"We are working double time so this donation reaches Philippine shores without delay."

The Philippines, which has one of the highest COVID-19 infections in Southeast Asia, has vaccinated over 7.5 million individuals as of June 27, 2.5 million of whom have been fully vaccinated. The country aims to jab 50 million to 70 million people this year.

Aside from AstraZeneca, available vaccines in the country include Pfizer-BioNtech, Moderna, Sinovac and Sputnik V.

On Tuesday, the Health Department reported 4,479 new infections, bringing its COVID-19 case tally to 1,408,058, while its death toll from the deadly respiratory disease is 24,557. — Michaela Del Callar/RSJ, GMA News