China to donate 2M more Sinovac doses

MANILA – The Chinese government is set to donate two million more doses of Sinovac vaccine to the Philippine government, the Chinese Embassy in Manila announced on Friday.

Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian said the fresh aid would arrive next week and would bring to at least 57 million the number of doses China has shipped to Manila through procurement and donation.

“In 2021, China and the Philippines focused on pandemic control and economic recovery. We have conducted more mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields than ever before, forging a closer partnership in the new era,” he said in a virtual event.

“Chinese vaccines have not only been the first Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) vaccine to arrive in the Philippines but have also become the major source of vaccination in this country.”

Huang acknowledged Manila’s efforts to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and cited its “great achievements” in battling the pandemic.

The Philippines has so far administered 94.2 million doses of coronavirus vaccine since March 2021. According to the latest data from the National Task Force Against Covid-19, more than 39 million people are already fully vaccinated while 643,370 have received their booster shots.

Huang said aside from close coordination to augment the country’s pandemic response, government-to-government projects between the two nations have also stepped into “a new stage of harvest” this year.

The Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge was completed ahead of schedule in June, allowing about 50,000 vehicles to pass the bridge per day.

The envoy also mentioned the nearly completed Chico River Pump Irrigation Project, which he said could benefit about 8,700 hectares of farmland in Cagayan and Kalinga provinces and improve crop yield once inaugurated.