MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines will get more share of the 80 million surplus doses of COVID-19 vaccines from the United States as the Biden administration announced that it will be among the priority recipient countries of Washington’s jab donation.
“The Biden-Harris administration has announced that the Philippines will be among priority recipient countries to receive a portion of the latest 55 million tranche of U.S. government-donated COVID-19 vaccine doses,” the U.S. Embassy in Manila told reporters Tuesday.
“The Philippines will receive vaccines both through the COVAX-allocated portion of this tranche as well as through direct donation,” it added.
“This is in addition to the Philippines’ allocation under the previous June 3 announcement of the first 25 million U.S. vaccine doses to be shared globally, as pledged earlier by President [Joe] Biden to help end the pandemic,” the embassy further said.
In a fact sheet posted on the White House website, the current administration announced the allocation of the remaining 55 million of the 80 million doses the U.S. will be donating to other countries.
In the remaining 55 million, 14 million will be shared directly to “regional priorities and other recipients,” including the Philippines.
Other recipients include Colombia, Argentina, Haiti, other CARICOM countries, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Panama, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam, Indonesia, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Cabo Verde, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Yemen, Tunisia, Oman, West Bank and Gaza, Ukraine, Kosovo, Georgia, Moldova, and Bosnia.
The U.S. also announced that the other 41 million doses will be donated through the COVAX facility.
Sixteen million of these doses will go to Asian nations, including the Philippines.
It was early this month when the U.S. reported the distribution of the first 25 million doses, 7 million of which will also benefit the Philippines and other Asian countries also through the COVAX facility.
Aside from the donation from the U.S., the Philippines is also set to receive donated AstraZeneca vaccine doses from Japan.
The country has so far received 9 million CoronaVac, 2.6 million AstraZeneca, 2.5 million Pfizer and 180,000 Sputnik V vaccine doses, either through donations, the COVAX facility or the procurement of the national government.