Cebu Pacific transported the 5th batch of 1 million doses of vaccines against COVID-19 from Beijing to Manila on Thursday.
The vaccines were airlifted via 5J 671, and arrived at the NAIA at 7:35 this morning.
It was the fifth shipment picked up by CEB from China, in coordination with the Department of Health (DOH).
“With the arrival of these life-saving vaccines, we will continue our aggressive vaccine program to protect more Filipinos from Covid-19,” said vaccine czar, Sec. Carlito Galvez, Jr., chief implementer of the National Task Force Against COVID-19. “We appreciate the support of Cebu Pacific and other Philippine carriers to expedite vaccine distribution throughout the country.”
Upon arrival, the vaccines were inspected by authorities, and were immediately transferred to refrigerated container vans and facilities.
“We are glad to keep supporting our government in the rollout of its vaccination program,” Alex Reyes, Chief Strategy Officer at Cebu Pacific. “We are keen to continue playing our part in this national endeavor through the safe transport of COVID-19 vaccines across our network of international and domestic destinations,” added Reyes.
The transported vaccines were subject to strict handling guidelines which entail storing them in temperature-specific refrigerated containers to maintain potency and efficacy up until arrival at their designated stations.
On June 9, CEB also carried over 30,000 doses to three key cities: 13,480 to Puerto Princesa, 10,720 doses to Legazpi, and 6,400 doses to Cotabato.
To date, CEB has flown over 4.5 million COVID-19 doses from China, on top of more than 1.1 million doses carried to 13 Philippine provinces, namely Bacolod, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Cotabato, Davao, Iloilo, Legazpi, Masbate, Puerto Princesa, Tacloban, Tuguegarao, Virac, and Zamboanga.