The Japanese government is expected to donate AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines to the Philippines as part of its response to the coronavirus pandemic, its envoy said Tuesday.
In a tweet, Japan's Ambassador to the country Kazuhiko Koshikawa said his government will make sure the vaccines would be delivered "at the soonest possible time."
"Glad to be the bearer of good news today! Japan will donate AstraZeneca vaccines to the Philippines, and we'll make sure to deliver them at the soonest possible time so no one gets left behind during this pandemic," the tweet read.
In a separate announcement, Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu said the vaccine donation is part of Japan’s assistance to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and is outside of doses coming from the COVAX facility, to which Tokyo has donated funds.
No details on the number of doses that will be donated, however, Motegi said it would be delivered in early July.
Japan will also donate COVID-19 shots to Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand "in a similar manner."
It can be recalled that the United States earlier announced that the Philippines will be among countries that will receive the first batch of 25 million doses of US-made vaccines by the end of June.
In its latest data, DOH said nearly 7 million doses have been administered, and 1,879,694 individuals have been fully immunized.
