Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, right, injects China’s Sinovac vaccine on Filipino doctor Eileen Aniceto during the first batch of vaccination at the Lung Center of the Philippines in Quezon city, Philippines. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
The U.S. has begun to ship more than three million COVID-19 vaccines to the Philippines. The State Department confirmed the first half of the Johnson and Johnson shipment arrived in the county on Friday.
This comes as much of Southeast Asia has experienced a spike in infections as the new COVID-19 variant spread throughout the region. So far, the Philippines has administered more than 13 million doses, which has accounted for about six percent of its population.
LOOK: The 1st batch of J&J’s Janssen vaccine donated by the @USAGov thru the #COVAX Facility arrives today in Manila 🇵🇭
A second delivery, expected to arrive on July 17, will complete the donation of 3.213 million doses. pic.twitter.com/H6A2phf4FE
— World Health Organization Philippines (@WHOPhilippines) July 16, 2021
The Philippines has implemented various restrictions, such as travel bans for Indonesian visitors, in efforts to limit infections. However, economic officials have reported the economic rebound for the nation post-pandemic still remains hopeful.
Friday’s delivery is part of U.S. commitment to ship over 500 million COVID-19 vaccine doses worldwide.
Source: One America News Network
