By Pearl Gumapos
A total of 3,000,060 doses of Moderna vaccine through the COVAX global facility will arrive Tuesday (August 3), 10:45 p.m. at Villamor Airbase.
National Task Force Against COVID-19 deputy chief implementer Sec. Vince Dizon said the vaccine doses are donations from the United States to the Philippines.
“Mayroong padating na three million na Moderna sa Tuesday galing sa U.S. Nagpapasalamat tayo sa gobyerno ng U.S. para doon,” Dizon said in an interview with TeleRadyo last Sunday (August 1).
Dizon also emphasized the importance of getting vaccinated as soon as possible following the increase in the number of COVID-19 Delta variant cases in the country.
He said there is a need to prevent the number of people infected with the Delta variant from increasing to avoid overcrowding in hospitals and other medical facilities.
Meanwhile, the government of the United Kingdom donated some 415,000 doses of AstraZeneca to the Philippines.
On Wednesday night (June 28), the British government announced that it will be donating nine million doses of AstraZeneca to various countries.
The donation is part of the first batch promised by the British government to developing countries to ensure the safety of everyone from COVID-19, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said.
Five million will be distributed through the COVAX facility, while four million will be given directly to countries in need.
The doses donated by the UK arrived today (August 2) at around 4:25 p.m. at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3, Bay 114. – jlo
