The Philippines is set to receive an additional 5 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine from the United States.

“Secretary [Carlito] Galvez and Secretary [Francisco] Duque just informed me that America is giving us new doses, 5 million doses,” President Rodrigo Duterte said in a prerecorded public address.

Duterte even said that he intends to visit US to personally thank the government for its help in getting Covid-19 vaccines.

The country has received more than 71 million Covid-19 vaccine doses.

Of this number, around 46 million doses were purchased by the government, 16 million doses were coursed through the World Health Organization-COVAX facility, 5 million doses were purchased by local government units, and more than 3.6 million doses were donated by other countries.

The Philippines has administered more than 45 million Covid-19 vaccines doses, of which over 21 million are fully vaccinated.

Last August, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque admitted that the vaccine donations from the US may be one of the reasons Duterte decided to keep the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

“The President considered the totality of the recent situation and thorough assessment [of the agreement] based on national interest. By considering the totality of the circumstances, there is a good possibility that it was factored in the situation,” Roque said.