Dubai: A total of 100,000 doses of Hayat-Vax COVID-19 vaccine, donated by the UAE to the Philippines, arrived in Manila on Wednesday, according to the ‘Philippine National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19’.
Hayat-Vax is the locally-produced inactivated vaccine developed by Sinopharm China National Biotec Group, following the launch of a joint venture called ‘Life Sciences and Vaccine Manufacturing’ between Sinopharm and Abu Dhabi’s G42.
The delivery of the 100,000 vaccines – the first vaccine donation made by the UAE to the Philippines – was carried on an Etihad flight. The plane landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 1.55pm (Manila time).
UAE Embassy Acting Chargé d’Affaires Khalid Alhajeri was present during the turn-over ceremony that was attended by Wilben Mayor, from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, and other Philippine and UAE embassy officials.
‘Thank you, UAE’
Mayor thanked the UAE government for the vaccine donation. “This will be very helpful for the Filipinos, especially during this time of the pandemic,” he said.
NTF said “the Hayat-Vax vaccine manufactured in the UAE was issued an Emergency Use Authorisation on August 11 by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration”.
NTF added in a tweet: “The Hayat-Vax donated by the UAE is identical to the Chinese-made Sinopharm jab which will be administered to people aged 18 and above in the Philippines.”
