The Department of Health (DOH) said the vaccines were donated by Lithuania.
They were received by DOH Assistant Secretary Leonita Gorgolon, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Lithuania Julia Netta Vildzius Peña, and the Deputy Head of Mission of the European Union to the Philippines Dr. Ana-Isabel Sanchez-Ruiz.
“It is with great pleasure that we have received such generous donations from the Lithuanian Government and our sincerest gratitude to our partner agencies for being one with the DOH in seeing that within our reach is a bountiful future, one that is most achievable starting with ensuring that we have sufficient protection against the Covid-19 virus,” DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Singh-Vergeire said in a statement.
“To every eligible Juan and Juana, we urge everyone to get the opportunity to gain longer and stronger protection by getting vaccinated against Covid-19. Together, let us move towards a healthier Pilipinas,” she added.
The DOH said they are still awaiting the additional bivalent vaccines from Covax, which earlier committed over one million doses to the Philippines.
Bivalent vaccines reportedly target the omicron variant, the most transmissible form of Covid-19 that caused a resurgence of cases in the country early in 2022.
The DOH earlier said the bivalent vaccines will first be administered to healthcare workers and senior citizens whose recent vaccination for the virus was given four months ago.
So far, there were already 674,471 healthcare workers and 970,020 senior citizens have been given second booster shots. (SunStar Philippines)