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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider House leader thanks US for vaccine donation to PH

House leader thanks US for vaccine donation to PH

Published Jun 5, 2021 09:39 am

House deputy speaker and Cagayan de Oro City Representative Rufus Rodriguez on Saturday, June 5, thanked the United States for deciding to donate part of its surplus AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines to many countries, including the Philippines.

A health worker shows a vial of the AstraZeneca jab against the coronavirus, during a vaccination campaign at the El-Arjate prison near the capital Rabat, on May 26, 2021. (AFP / MANILA BULLETIN)

“We are grateful for the donation, which will strengthen our diplomatic ties with the US,” Rodriguez said in a statement.

The donation, he said, would also give Filipinos more vaccine options.

“It will expedite the government’s vaccination program and hopefully the attainment of herd immunity or what the pandemic response task force calls as ‘population protection’,” he pointed out.

“We should anticipate a surge in supply and prepare to scale up vaccination,” he added.

The vaccine the US is donating is made by British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca and UK’s Oxford University. It is widely used in Europe.

The US is sharing an initial seven million doses of vaccines to the Philippines and other countries in Asia. It said it would distribute about 80 million vaccine doses to different countries this month.

American officials have said the donation would be made through the World Health Organization’s vaccine-sharing facility for “equitable distribution.”

In April, Rodriguez urged the US to donate its excess COVID-19 vaccine supply to the Philippines. At that time, only China’s Sinovac was available in the country.

Related Tags

covid-19 AstraZeneca Rufus Rodriguez Donation covid-19 vaccine
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