Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said that the Philippines will receive 525,600 doses of COVID-19 vaccines from British manufacturer AstraZeneca on Monday, March 1.
The delivery will arrive at around 12:50 p.m. via commercial flight at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, said Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque. It will be the first batch out of 3.5 million up to 9 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses that will be received from the COVAX facility, a global initiative led by the World Health Organization with several participating governments, aiming to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.
Roque later clarified in an interview that the doses are not included in the 17 million AstraZeneca shots that the national government secured through tripartite agreements with the private sector and local government units.
“Iba pa ito. Ito ay galing sa COVAX facility,” Roque said.
When asked who will be prioritized for the AstraZeneca vaccines, Roque explained that medical frontliners should be first in line according to the government’s vaccination plan. However, he also noted that the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group has yet to arrange a system for the rollout of the drugs.
“Magkakaroon ‘yan ng panibagong protocol na bubuuhin ng NITAG, pero sang-ayon sa national vaccine plan, syempre uunahin pa rin talaga ang mga medical frontliners,” said Roque.
