The Asian Development Bank (ADB), on Monday said it had approved a 250-million-dollar loan to help the Philippine government purchase 40 million more doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
Sakiko Tanaka, a Social Sector Specialist for the Manila-based bank said ADB is supporting the government’s drive to provide vaccines to protect its citizens and save lives, especially with the emergence of new COVID-19 variants.
She said vaccination will allow the health system to better manage the effects of the virus and will help sustain economic recovery.
She added that it is key to the country’s full recovery from the pandemic.
The department of health said since the government launched the inoculation campaign in March, 37.4 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Sunday.
According to the department, that represents over 34 per cent of the country’s total population.
The government aims to vaccinate 54 million people by the end of 2021 and 77 million by next March.
Earlier in February, the ADB allocated 25 million dollars in financial aid to the Philippines to help it make advance payments for COVID-19 shots, micro syringes and other vaccine-related items.
The bank also approved a 400-million-dollar loan in March for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines.
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The Philippines’ daily tally of COVID-19 cases has been falling since last month, prompting the government to ease restrictions before Omicron was designated a variant of concern.
On Sunday, the country’s total accumulated COVID-19 caseload since 2020 was at more 2.83 million, with 50,280 deaths, according to the department of health.
