ILOILO City – In unity there is strength – and perhaps easy access to the vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Mayor Jerry Treñas seeks to harness the collective power of city mayors to hasten the procurement. He has asked the League of Cities of the Philippines to convene city mayors and start initiating talks on it.
“Let there be a coalition of cities for this,” said Treñas.
On the part of the city government, Treñas said he already had a meeting with the COVID-19 task force and various business groups.
Private companies, he said, were being encouraged to, on their own, find ways to acquire COVID-19 vaccines for their respective employees.
“Let us all be wary of the virus even as we prepare for the new year but always hopeful that 2021 will have something positive for everyone,” said Treñas.
Treñas recently requested the national government’s Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) headed by Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. to allow the city government to access COVID-19 vaccines from any of the Food and Drug Administration-accredited pharmaceuticals in the country.
“We hope to access the vaccines for our frontliners and employees of the city government…Let us work together to ensure that the city returns to normal at the earliest possible time,” said Treñas.
Meanwhile, the National Task Force Against COVID-19 warned the public about entities purportedly accepting or making “reservations” for COVID-19.
It emphasized that the national government is the only one duly authorized to procure COVID-19 vaccines and administer them.
“Any other offers of guaranteed access to COVID-19 vaccines is not only illegal but also life-threatening,” according to the task force./PN
