The country received its first batch of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines for 2022 with the arrival of 150,540 doses of Moderna shots on Friday morning, Jan. 7, at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

The vaccines were transported by a China Airlines plane around 10 a.m. at NAIA Terminal 1. The fresh supplies were purchased by the government from the American vaccine manufacturer.

Dr. Ted Herbosa, special adviser of the National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19, said the vaccines were “remainders” of the procured 20 million Moderna shots last year: 13 million were bought by the government while seven million were purchased by the private sector.

“First delivery po ng ating mga bakuna para sa COVID-19 habang tayo ay dumadami ang mga kaso (This is our first delivery of vaccines for COVID-19 as we experience a surge in cases),” Herbosa said.

The country recorded more than 17,000 new cases on Thursday as COVID-19 continued its rampage after the holiday season.

With the latest delivery, the country has already received 210,783,650 doses in its inventory.

Out of this, a total of 111,908,830 doses were administered nationwide. There were 51,655,649 individuals that were already fully vaccinated while 57,446,651 others received their first dose. There were 2,806,530 who also had their booster shots.

Meanwhile, there were 98,874,820 doses that remained in government stockpile.

Herbosa urged unvaccinated individuals, especially the senior citizens, to get the life-saving jab so they could be protected against the threat of the Omicron variant.

He also bared that the Pfizer vaccines that were bought by the government for five- to 17-year-olds will arrive “in the middle of January,” following the approval of the pediatric vaccination of the said age bracket by the Department of Health (DOH) last December 2021.