Manila, Philippines – The 500,000 doses of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines procured by the Philippine government arrived in the country on Thursday, May 20, 2021. These vaccines were developed by the Chinese drug-maker Sinovac Biotech.
The said shipment was landed at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 on Thursday morning at 7:35 am.
First Secretary Winston Almeda & Economic Attache Dada Aromin led the inspection of boxes on Sinovac vaccines from the Philippine Embassy in Beijing, China last Monday, May 17, 2021.
Also present in receiving the package is Secretary Francisco Duque III of the Department of Health (DOH).
Philippine Ambassador to China Chito Sta. Romana announced on Wednesday that the government are expecting to received 500,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines.
“Another shipment of 500,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines is scheduled to arrive in the Philippines on Thursday, May 20, 2021. This is the last tranche of Covid-19 vaccines purchased from China this month”, Sta. Romana said on Facebook post.
“More vaccines from Sinovac are expected to be purchased in June & the following months”. he added.
TINGNAN: Sinalubong ni Health Sec. Francisco Duque III ang pagdating ng 500,000 doses ng Sinovac #COVID19 vaccine ngayong Huwebes ng umaga. | via @RayaCapulong #COVID19VaccinePH pic.twitter.com/NfEqIKepai
— DZMM TeleRadyo (@DZMMTeleRadyo) May 19, 2021
So far, the country has received a total of 5.5 million doses of SinoVac COVID-19 vaccines from which 1 million doses were donated by the Chinese government.
Here is the table showing the number of vaccines delivered in the country from February 2021 to present.
| Date | Name of Vaccines | Figure |
|---|---|---|
| Feb 28, 2021 | SinoVac | 600,000 |
| March 24, 2021 | SinoVac | 400,000 |
| March 29, 2021 | SinoVac | 1,000,000 |
| April 11, 2021 | SinoVac | 500,000 |
| April 19, 2021 | AstraZeneca | 525,600 |
| April 22, 2021 | SinoVac | 500,000 |
| April 29, 2021 | SinoVac | 500,000 |
| May 1, 2021 | Gamaleya | 30,000 |
| May 7, 2021 | SinoVac | 1,500,000 |
| May 8, 2021 | AstraZeneca | 2,000,000 |
| May 10, 2021 | Pfizer-BioNTech | 193,050 |
| May 19, 2021 | SinoVac | 500,000 |
The Philippine government has distributed at least 7,671,120 doses of COVID vaccines as of May 18, 2021. Each person need 2 doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
Since the vaccination rolled out by March 1, 2021, only 786,528 were fully vaccinated and 2,512,942 received their first dose of vaccine. As of May 18, 2021, the Philippine government has administered a total of 3,299,470 doses of vaccines.
The government achieved a 7-day average of vaccinated individuals of 108,540. The government also assures that the vaccines is free for all.
The government is also expecting to receive AstraZeneca vaccines from World Health Organization (WHO) and from Pfizer-BioNTech within this year.
The target numbers of full vaccination by the end of the year are at least 70 million individuals.
See Also: Latest tally of the COVID-19 cases in the Philippines
DOH: Vaccination Priorities
The government approved the vaccination for economic frontline workers in essential sectors (A4) and indigent Filipinos (A5) beginning of June. So far, only health workers, senior citizens and persons with comorbidities have undergone the vaccination program. Here are the following categories in vaccination program.
| Category | Priority group |
|---|---|
| A1 | Frontline health workers both national and local; public and non-public; health professional and non-professional (students, nursing aides, janitors, barangay health workers, et. al) |
| A2 | Senior citizens (60-years old and above) |
| A3 | Persons with comorbidities |
| A4 | Economic frontline workers in essential sectors including uniformed personnel. |
| A5 | Indigent Filipinos |
| B1 | Teachers and Social workers |
| B2 | Other Government Workers |
| B3 | Other Essential Workers such as grocery store workers, bank workers, retail workers, mall workers |
| B4 | Socio-demographic groups at significantly higher risk other than senior citizens and indigenous Filipinos such as persons deprived of liberty, persons with disabilities, Filipinos living in high-density areas, students |
| B5 | Overseas FIlipino Workers |
| B6 | Other remaining workforce |
| C | Rest of the Filipino population not otherwise included in the above priority groups |
Efficacy Rates of SinoVac Vaccine
Based on the evaluation of SinoVac vaccines by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the efficacy rates are from 65.3% to 91.2% to aged 18-59 healthy individuals. 50.4% efficacy to those exposed in Covid-19 and 51% to 52% efficacy rates on senior citizens (60 above).
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