Bahrain has expressed its intention to donate more than half a million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to the Philippines, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. disclosed.
Locsin bared on Twitter Monday night, May 16, that Bahrain's crown prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa intends to donate a total of 590,000 doses of Pfizer BioNTech and Sinopharm vaccines to the country.
He said this was relayed to him by Bahrain's foreign minister in a phone call.
"For the record. In a phone conversation with me, Foreign Minister His Excellency Abdullatif bin Rashid Zayani informed me that His Royal Highness Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa is donating 590,000 doses of COVID19 vaccines," Locsin said.
The donation would include 80,000 Pfizer BioNTech for adults, 80,000 doses of Pfizer BioNTech for children; and 430,000 doses of Sinopharm.
(1/2) For the record. In a phone conversation with me, Foreign Minister His Excellency Abdullatifbin Rashid Zayani informed me that His Royal Highness Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa is donating 590,000 doses of COVID19 vaccines: 80,000 Pfizer BioNTech for adults
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) May 16, 2022
Locsin also disclosed that the interagency task force for the management of emerging infectious disease (IATF-EID) said it has purchased enough vaccines but the Foreign Affairs chief asked the pandemic task force to reconsider its decision.
"ATF-EID NTF COVID-19 says it has purchased more than enough vaccines already; having procured 15 million doses just for children," he said.
"I ask IATF-EID NTF (National Task Force) to reconsider its decision," he added.
In April 2022, Bahrain also committed to donate 240,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines to the Philippines.
As of May 16, more than 68 million of the country's 110-million population have been vaccinated against Covid-19.