The Philippines' top diplomat in Beijing on Tuesday expressed confidence that the vaccines allocated by China for the Philippines will be delivered “as scheduled and as promised,” including its donation of 600,000 doses made by Chinese pharmaceutical Sinovac.
Speaking at the regular Palace press briefing, Ambassador Chito Sta. Romana said the delivery schedule for the vaccine is being discussed through diplomatic channels, specifically between the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) the Chinese manufacturer.
“That’s why I think so far, the situation looks good. I think certainly before the end of the month we will be receiving the vaccine donation that Foreign Minister Wang Yi promised last month,” he said.
Only last week, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque announced that the 600,000 doses promised by Chinese Foreign Minister and State Counselor Wang Yi will be delivered to the Philippines on February 23, 2021. Apart from the donation, the Philippines also ordered 25 million doses of Chinese-made vaccines which will be delivered on a staggered basis within this year.
While China has been ramping up the production of the vaccines over the last several months, China, however, is currently observing a week-long public holiday due to the Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival, hence, offices are closed and are expected to open either tomorrow, Feb. 17, or until Feb. 18.
He admitted that despite ramping up the vaccine production, it is also a challenge for China to meet the demand as it is playing the role of supplying developing countries and the third world.
“What actually happens here is that the developed countries, you know the US, Europe, other countries, they’re holding on to almost—a big proportion of the vaccine production. They are certainly holding on to what is produced within their country,” Sta. Romana explained.
The advantage of the Philippines, according to the Filipino diplomat, is that “we are pretty high in their priority list.
"So, that is why we have a high level of confidence that this will happen. … That’s why we’ll resume the discussions and, of course, the work of facilitating the communication between the vaccine makers and the IATF to ensure the delivery of the vaccines to the Philippines,” the envoy said.