The Philippine carrier Cebu Pacific has delivered its first government-procured vaccine shipment from Beijing, China to Manila, in coordination with the Department of Health (DOH). A total of 500,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
The continuous arrival of vaccines underpins the Philippine government’s commitment to curb the cases of COVID-19 in the country as it paves the path to herd immunity.
“Our number one priority is to get the country back on track, and we are doing all we can to secure millions of vaccines from various sources all over the world. Collaborating with airlines in this endeavor is of utmost importance – the sooner we secure the vaccines and the faster these are distributed, the quicker we can finally get past this pandemic,” said vaccine czar, Sec. Carlito Galvez, Jr., chief implementer of the National Task Force Against COVID-19.
“We remain optimistic about the Philippines’ vaccine program and look forward to working even more closely with Cebu Pacific and our other Philippine carriers for future vaccine shipments,” added Galvez.
“This delivery marks our first international vaccine shipment and we are grateful for the trust and confidence of the DOH. More importantly, we remain steadfast in our commitment to support our country’s recovery efforts in every way possible,” says Michael Ivan Shau, Chief Operations Officer at Cebu Pacific.