MANILA, May 20 (NNN-PNA) – The Philippines received an additional batch of the Sinovac CoronaVac vaccines, purchased from China this morning, as the country is ramping up vaccination efforts, amid a continuous surge of COVID-19 infections.
According to the Philippines’ Department of Health (DOH), the government administered more than 3.2 million doses of vaccines as of May 18, primarily to frontline healthcare workers, the elderly, and those with underlying medical conditions.
The country aims to vaccinate up to 70 million people this year, to achieve herd immunity.
China donated the first batch of Sinovac CoronaVac to the Philippines on Feb 28, allowing the Southeast Asian country to kick off its vaccination drive on March 1.
The Philippines reported a total of 1,159,071 COVID-19 cases, as of yesterday, including 19,507 deaths.– NNN-PNA
