The Chinese government is donating 500,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to the Philippines.

This was the recent announcement of the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on January 16, 2021, as among the highlights of the two-day official visit of Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

DFA Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. thanked Wang Yu for the assistance that China continues to give since the outbreak.

According to the statement from DFA, the donation of the vaccines is “in keeping with President Xi Jinping’s commitment to President Rodrigo Duterte.

However, there was no mention of what brand and when these vaccines are set to arrive in the country.

Currently, there are two pharmaceutical firms whose COVID-19 vaccines are now on trial in other countries. Sinopharm reported 79.34 percent efficacy while Sinovac Biotech’s vaccine has less than 60 percent efficacy in the Brazil trial and a 91 percent efficacy in Turkey.

Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. defended on Wednesday the decision to acquire doses from Sinovac saying they offered the “best price” for the vaccine.

Meanwhile, President Duterte also met with Wang Yi for a courtesy call.

In a report by ABS-CBN quoting a statement from the Palace, it said that President Duterte emphasized the importance of boosting public health cooperation in order to revive the region’s economy. (ES)