The Philippines was set to take delivery on Friday of about 2.8 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine from Russia, according to the presidential palace.
The government bought the latest batch of Sputnik V two-dose vaccines, acting palace spokesman Karlo Alexei B. Nograles told a televised news briefing.
He said about 5,000 more doses of Russia’s single-dose coronavirus vaccine were also set to arrive on Nov. 19. He added that 609,570 doses of the vaccine made by Pfizer, Inc were likewise expected to arrive on Friday night.
The Philippines has given out 73.92 million doses of coronavirus vaccines. More than 32.99 million or 42.77% of adult Filipinos had been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus as of Nov. 18, Mr. Nograles said.
The Department of Health (DoH) reported 1,485 coronavirus infections on Friday, bringing the total to 2.82 million.
The death toll rose to 46,698 after 277 more patients died, while recoveries increased by 1,393 to 2.75 million, it said in a bulletin.
There were 23,200 active cases, 59.6% of which were mild, 3.8% did not show symptoms, 12% were severe, 19.56% were moderate and 5.1% were critical.
The agency said 28 duplicates had been removed from the tally, 24 of which were tagged as recoveries, while one was relisted as a death. It said 230 cases that were tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths.
One laboratory failed to submit data on Nov. 17.
DoH said 33% of intensive care units in the Philippines were occupied, while the rate for Metro Manila was 32%.
Meanwhile, DOH said about 2,500 booster shots had been given out to health workers nationwide.
Only 2% of 2,488 workers had an adverse reaction, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario S. Vergeire told an online news briefing.
The agency said it needed 160,000 volunteers to ensure the success of its vaccination drive next month.
Ms. Vergeire also said more than 800,000 adolescents had been vaccinated against the coronavirus as of Nov. 17. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza and Alyssa Nicole O. Tan
