Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC) and its logistics arm MetroPac Movers Inc. (MMI) helped store batches of the CoronaVac vaccine, from Beijing-based biopharmaceutical firm Sinovac, in the MetroPac Movers Inc. warehouse in Marikina City.
“We are now embarking on our journey towards economic recovery, and we are honored to be an instrumental part of it by hosting the first 600,000 doses of vaccine from Sinovac at the MetroPac Movers hub in Marikina City,” according to Chairman Manuel V Pangilinan's statement issued Tuesday, (March 2).
On February 28, an initial batch of 600,000 doses of Sinovac vaccine arrived at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.
Sinovac was the first among a number of Coronavirus vaccines set to inoculate thousands of Filipinos nationwide.
According to the Duterte administration, the country’s frontline healthcare workers will be the first ones to receive the Sinovac vaccine.
The Sinovac vaccine is currently undergoing Phase 3 trials in some countries. Currently in late stage trials in Indonesia and Turkey, the Sinovac vaccines have an efficacy rate of 65.3% and 91.25%, respectively.
Last year, Pangilinan, along with some of the country’s top business leaders, also committed to support the national government in providing two million doses of AstraZeneca COVID vaccine for frontliners.
The vaccine was developed by the Oxford University in the United Kingdom.
“The protection of our health workers and public frontliners is indeed a priority," he stressed.
"We equip our frontliners with PPE and we have also provided disinfectants and COVID testing extraction machines to hospitals nationwide — all these to ensure that we have the necessary means to help combat the pandemic."
A vaccine will hopefully stem the pandemic, which is, literally a shot in the arm that we need,” according to Pangilinan.
PLDT and Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC)’s support will be coursed through the PLDT-Smart Foundation to avail of the AstraZeneca vaccines for the country’s frontliners.
AstraZeneca Philippines country president Lotis Ramin said that AstraZeneca’s landmark partnership with Oxford University for the vaccine candidate AZD1222 is anchored on the principles of equitable distribution and no-profit within the pandemic.