Argentina keen to work with PH on managing pandemic effects

MANILA – Argentina will explore ways to elevate its relationship with the Philippines, particularly on managing the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, the Argentinian Embassy official in the Philippines said Tuesday night.

Chargé d’affaires Mauricio Germán Muñoz said the South American country is keen to share their best experiences in handling the crisis and in turn learn from the Philippines in terms of deploying vaccines as an archipelago.

Muñoz, together with officials from the Philippine government, welcomed the 500,000 doses of AstraZeneca donated by Argentina to Manila, which he describes as a reflection of Buenos Aires’ expression of solidarity.

“This is not over here. Actually, we’re also aiming to embark on some exchange of experiences on how both our countries are managing the consequences of the pandemic. I hope we can see new developments in this field in the future,” he said in an interview.

Around 9 p.m., some 1,358,600 doses Moderna doses procured by the private sector also arrived at NAIA Terminal 1.

He said Argentina wants to gather some of its medical experts and from there consider the next possible engagement with Manila.

“For example, this is in connection with the vaccines, we are aiming for exchange in experiences on how to store vaccine considering the challenges of a country with the geographic complexity of the Philippines,” he said.

“Argentina is not an island country so we really think we could learn from each other and try to address the challenges posed by the geography, climate, and the logistics in general,” he added.

The latest Argentinian donation brings the total vaccine doses the Philippines have secured since February 2021 to about 191 million, according to the National Task Force Against Covid-19 (NTF).

NTF Director LCol Francel Margareth Taborlupa is optimistic the country is still on track to reaching its target of vaccinating 54 million despite the setbacks brought about by Typhoon Odette.

Taborlupa said the Armed Forces of the Philippines is also providing generator sets to save the vaccines that are in typhoon-stricken areas.

“We are doing all our best to continue on with the national government’s vaccination program… We’re trying to forge on with the program despite the challenges posed by the typhoon so we will channel the vaccine to different areas,” she said.