PASAY CITY (28 OCTOBER 2021)— The Philippines is inching closer to hitting its vaccination targets for 2021 thanks to the support of the country’s international partners such as the Japanese government.
This, as Secretary Carlito G. Galvez, Jr., National Task Force against COVID-19 chief implementer and vaccine czar, received on behalf of the national government 896,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines donated by the Japanese government on Thursday,
The latest vaccine shipment is part of the 1,961,600 Japan-donated Pfizer doses that are scheduled to arrive this week.
“These donated vaccines will enable the Philippines to realize its goal of achieving a daily jab rate of 1.5 million doses, and fully vaccinate at least 50 million Filipinos by year end,” Galvez said.
“The arrival of this latest vaccine donation from Japan comes at a crucial time, as the Philippines continues to expand the coverage of its vaccine rollout, which now includes minors within the 12 to 17 age group,” he added.
Another shipment consisting of 1,065,600 AstraZeneca doses are set to arrive on October 30.
Japan had donated 1,124,100 AstraZeneca doses back in July, bringing its total donated vaccines to the Philippines to 3,085,700.
“This means that one million Filipinos throughout the country will be protected against the deadly virus,” Galvez said.
For his part, Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuhiko Koshikawa emphasized the importance of vaccines in preventing the spread of COVID-19, drawing from their experience back in Japan.
“In Japan, we are currently seeing astonishing successes in our vaccination program. The rate of adult vaccination has increased significantly, and the number of new infection cases a day had declined dramatically,” Koshikawa said.
“I expect the same thing would happen soon in the Philippines,” he added.
On October 27, the country registered only 3,218 new cases of COVID-19, which is a significant drop from over 20,000 cases recorded a month ago.
A total of 57,494,154 jabs have been administered nationwide as of October 27, of which 26,479,029 Filipinos are now fully vaccinated, while 31,015,126 have received the first dose.
Likewise, the Japanese Ambassador recognized the efforts of medical frontliners and government workers for their tireless efforts in combating COVID-19.
“On behalf of the government of Japan, allow me to convey my profound appreciation and respect for those who continue to serve on the front lines of this pandemic,” Koshikawa said.
“We are now confident that a better Christmas for Filipinos is now well within reach,” he added. END
