16-M Covid-19 vax doses cleared since February: BOC

MANILA – Over 16 million doses of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines from four countries have arrived in the country since February, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) reported on Thursday.

In a statement, the bureau said the Port of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) has approved the release of the vaccines in the last four months.

“As of today, more than 16 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been processed and released by the BOC-Port of NAIA since February 2021,” it said.

Out of the number, 11 million are Sinovac vaccines from China.

The latest China-made vaccines numbering 2 million doses arrived at NAIA Terminal 2 via Cebu Pacific Air Flight 5J-671 on Wednesday.

The Sinovac vaccines were immediately pre-cleared upon submission of all pertinent documents by the consignees to the BOC through the One-Stop-Shop at the port.

Upon arrival, the Covid-19 vaccines were immediately loaded in reefer vans and were transported to Pharmaserve Cold Storage Facility in Marikina and Glacier Megafridge Inc in Paranaque, while being under guarded by the Customs-NAIA CoVax Task Force and other enforcement agencies.

Aside from China, the vaccines used in the country are from the US (Pfizer-BioNtech), United Kingdom (AstraZeneca), and Russia (Sputnik V).

The Ports of NAIA, Davao, and Cebu continue to conduct inter-port briefings with other agencies, to ensure the supply and expeditious facilitation of vaccines in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

The BOC assumes an essential role in ensuring the facilitation of Personal Protective Equipment, medical supplies, and vaccines.