MANILA, March 4 (Xinhua) -- The initial batch of 487,200 doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines from the COVAX Facility arrived in the Philippines on Thursday evening, after the arrival of a batch of vaccines from China earlier this week.
The Department of Health (DOH) said the Philippines is among the first countries in Southeast Asia to receive vaccines from the COVAX Facility.
"The long days and nights of waiting are finally over. These vaccines will be of great help to our valiant healthcare workers who have been at the forefront of the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic," Health Secretary Francisco Duque said in a statement.
"With every dose that we will administer, we are inching towards a safer recovery from this pandemic," Duque added.
China was the first to deliver a batch of COVID-19 vaccines to the Philippines. The Sinovac's CoronaVac vaccines arrived on Sunday, allowing the country to start its mass vaccination drive on Monday.
The Philippines continued its vaccination drive for the fourth day on Thursday using the Chinese-made CoronaVac vaccines in hospitals in Metro Manila, central and southern Philippines.
The Philippines has been battling a steady rise of COVID-19 cases since the viral disease emerged in January last year. It now has 584,667 confirmed cases, including 12,404 deaths. Enditem