Photo from Sinovac Biotech Ltd.
The 600,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines China pledged to the Philippines will arrive on Sunday, Feb. 28, Malacañang said on Thursday.
“Tatlong tulog na lang po ay parating na po ang bakuna. Inaasahan na darating sa araw ng Linggo, itong Linggong pong ito ha, ang Sinovac kaya po excited na tayong lahat,” Palace spokesman Harry Roque said in a media briefing.
Roque earlier said that President Rodrigo Duterte would receive the donated vaccines himself.
The country could then start the vaccine rollout as early as Monday, Roque said.
“Ang alam ko po, all we need is one day and then we will roll out. So, if it arrives on Sunday, if I am not mistaken, then we can rollout on Monday, dahil excited na excited na po ang maraming kababayan natin,” he said.
Roque, along with vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr., Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana had expressed willingness to get injected with the Sinovac vaccines to allay vaccine hesitancy among Filipinos.
The Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization to Sinovac Covid-19 vaccines earlier this week but said the vaccines were not recommended for senior citizens and health workers.
Duterte has expressed preference for Sinopharm vaccines, which have yet to be approved by Philippine drug regulators. John Ezekiel J. Hirro