The UAE recently sent 100,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine to Manila on Thursday to support the Philippines’ fight against the pandemic, according to media reports. The UAE dispatched a plane carrying medical supplies, including 100,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses as a part of its ongoing humanitarian efforts to support countries fighting the Covid-19 crisis.
Khaled Al Hajri, Charge d’Affaires at the UAE Embassy in Manila mentioned that the Philippines is also among the first five countries to receive medical aid from the Emirates after the recent Covid-19 outbreak. In April 2020, the UAE sent an aircraft carrying 7.3 metric tonnes of medical supplies. He also noted that the delivery pointed out the strong ties between the two countries which span several decades.
The Southeast Asian country has registered a recent surge in the number of Covid-19 cases because of the highly contagious delta variant and has reported more than 1.7 million cases and 29,000 deaths as of this writing. Vaccination centres across the country’s capital are trying their best to inoculate the population including staying open 24/7 to get control of the superspreader virus.
Statistics show that only 10 percent of a total 110 million population are fully vaccinated, while others remain vulnerable to the virus. The government plans to vaccinate around 70 million people before the end of this year. Movement in Metro Manila has also been restricted in efforts to contain the Delta variant of Covid-19, which was first detected in India.
On Wednesday, the Philippine health ministry reported 12,021 new Covid-19 cases, the largest single-day increase in infections in four months along with a total of 154 new deaths. The positivity rate also rose for the fourth day straight. More and more hospitals are reporting their ICU and isolation units are nearing full capacity and some have had to refuse new patients because of a lack of beds and ventilators.