China will donate 500,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to the Philippines.
This was confirmed by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi when he met with President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday.
It is said to be a fulfillment of the promise made by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
But it did not mention what brand of vaccine would be given from China.
According to Ivy Banzon-Abalos, executive director of the Office of Strategic Communication and Research of the Department of Foreign Affairs, the donor will decide which company the vaccine will come from.
Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez is also said to know the details and timetable when it comes to the promised vaccine.
According to Chinese state media Xinhua, Minister Wang assured that China will continue to help the Philippines fight the virus, as a good friend.
Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian had earlier said that Sinovac vaccines could arrive in the Philippines next month.
Meanwhile, in the Xinhua report, Wang assured President Duterte that China supports the Philippines when it comes to protecting the country’s sovereignty, rights, and interests.
China to donate 500K doses of COVID-19 vaccine to PH
An agreement was also signed for a P3.72 billion grant from China for economic projects, infrastructure, and other negotiations between the two countries.
The Manila branch of the Bank of China has also been designated as the clearing bank of the Chinese currency Renminbi in the Philippines.
Meanwhile, a representative of Sinovac, the Chinese company that developed one of the vaccines against COVID-19, insisted that their vaccine was effective, amid criticisms about it.
Helen Yang, general manager of Sinovac, said the reported 50.4 percent efficacy of their vaccine came from a clinical trial conducted in Brazil in which the participants were front liners.
But it turns out that its efficacy rate is higher in the general population.
Yang added that the technology used in developing their vaccine has been tested. It uses an inactivated vaccine similar to the flu and polio vaccines.
According to Yang, more than 1 million doses of Sinovac have been used in China, it will be used in Indonesia and Turkey.