China delivers more Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines to Philippines

MANILA, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- China delivered an additional batch of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines to the Philippines on Sunday to support the Southeast Asian country's vaccination campaign.

"We would like to thank the Sinovac and China for the delivery of these vaccines," Carlito Galvez, the official in charge of vaccine procurement, told reporters at the airport.

China has been delivering COVID-19 vaccines to the Philippines since Feb. 28. It was the first to provide coronavirus vaccines to the Southeast Asian country, allowing it to kick off its vaccination drive on March 1.

The Philippines has administered over 40.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines. Nearly 18 million people have been fully vaccinated. The government aims to inoculate up to 70 million people this year.

To date, Galvez said the Philippines has received over 62 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from different vaccine makers. China remains the biggest vaccine supplier.

The Philippines has reported a total of 2,366,749 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Sunday, including 36,788 deaths.