MANILA, Philippines — The United Kingdom will donate 415,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to the Philippines, boosting the country’s vaccination efforts as it races against coronavirus variants.
“This is part of the first batch of the 100 million doses we’ve pledged to get the poorest parts of the world vaccinated as a matter of urgency,” UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement Wednesday.
“We’re doing this to help the most vulnerable, but also because we know we won’t be safe until everyone is safe,” he added.
Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. thanked the British government for the donation, calling it a “gesture of kindness and compassion.”
“This generous donation of vaccine doses to the Philippines will boost the national government’s capacity to provide the country’s most vulnerable sectors with an added layer of protection, particularly our uniformed personnel who put their lives on the line to ensure the safety and welfare of the Filipino people across the country,” he said.
UK will begin the delivery of nine million vaccine doses this week. Of the total, five million will go to vaccine sharing initiative COVAX, while four million will be shared directly with countries in need.
Over 18 million vaccine doses have been administered in the country, of which 11.3 million were given as first shots.
Meanwhile, 6.8 million people have been fully vaccinated.