The Philippines will receive its first shipment of AstraZeneca vaccines on Thursday, March 4, days after logistical concerns and supply problems delayed the delivery of doses originally scheduled for March 1. 

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“This is to confirm that the initial shipment of AstraZeneca vaccines is set to arrive tomorrow,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said on Tuesday, March 3.

Roque said 487,200 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine would be handed over to the Philippines on Thursday at 7:30 pm. The latest number of doses to arrive is lower than the 525,600 doses the Philippines had expected to receive on March 1. 

Roque did not say why the number of AstraZeneca doses to be delivered on March 4 was lower.

Roque earlier said that President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to witness the arrival of AstraZeneca vaccines supplied by the COVAX facility led by the World Health Organization. 

Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr thanked countries including Germany, the Republic of Korea, and European Union for donating to the COVAX facility, saying the Philippines was “deeply grateful” for their contribution.

Why this matters

The latest batch of vaccines from the COVAX facility will allow at least 243,00 more health workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19. A considerable number had turned down Sinovac’s vaccine, opting to wait for AstraZeneca’s vaccine to be delivered to the country.

The Philippines earlier received 600,000 Sinovac doses donated by China on February 28, though enthusiasm for the vaccine was muted amid concerns over its lower efficacy and the robustness of its data compared to other vaccines. (READ: Philippines begins legally rolling out first COVID-19 vaccines)

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The Philippines’ Food and Drug Administration earlier granted AstraZeneca an emergency use authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine. The country is expecting up to 9 million doses to be delivered from COVAX in the first quarter of 2021, and 17 million purchased by private sector and local governments by the second quarter of 2021. – with reports from Pia Ranada/Rappler.com