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Philippines Finally Receives First Batch of COVID-19 Vaccine

VOA News

   The Philippines launched its national coronavirus vaccination campaign
   Mondayamidwidespread public skepticismanda struggle to procure
   vaccines.

   Dr. Gerardo Legaspi, the director of the state-run Philippine General
   Hospital in Manila, received the first dose of theCoronaVacvaccine
   developed by China-based Sinovac Biotech Limited. The doctor's
   inoculation came just hours after President Rodrigo Duterte greeted the
   arrival of 600,000 doses of Sinovac donated by Beijing.

   The Philippines is the last Southeast Asian nation to receive a
   COVID-19 vaccinesupply. The Duterte administration is aiming to
   vaccinate 70millionof its citizens, but some public opinion polls have
   revealed a resistance among a majority of people due to uncertainty
   over the safety and efficacy of theCoronaVacvaccine.
   Used vials of China's Sinovac vaccine are shown during the first batch
   of vaccination at the Lung Center of the Philippines in Quezon city,
   Philippines on March 1, 2021.

   But Carlito Galvez, who is leading the Philippines' vaccine procurement
   efforts, urged his compatriots to get the first vaccine that becomes
   available.

   "Let's not wait for the best vaccine. There's no such thing," Galvez
   said in a speech at the Philippine General Hospital. "The best vaccine
   is the one that's safe and effective, and arrives early."

   But just receiving vaccines has been an issue. An expected
   shipmentof525,600doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford University vaccine
   that was due Monday has been postponed due to supply problems.

   The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the Pacific archipelago, sickening
   more than 576,000 people, including 12,318 deaths, the second-highest
   in the region. President Duterte has vowed to ease some of the
   restrictions imposed in an effort to boost the Philippine economy once
   more vaccines are available.

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