ILOILO City – The city government plans to start vaccinating residents against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in May this year.
According to Mayor Jerry Treñas, first to get the jab are persons 18 years old and above but the priority sectors are the medical frontliners, senior citizens, local government frontliners, and the immunocompromised, among others.
Over the weekend, the city’s chief executive signed a tripartite agreement with British pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca and the National Task Force (NTF) vs COVID-19.
The deal reviewed by the City Legal Office would secure for the city 600,000 doses of AZD1222 Vaccine, enough for 300,000 city residents or 60 percent of the metro’s total population of about 474,250.
Treñas, chairman of the League of Cities of the Philippines’ Committee on Vaccine Procurement, said they will continue to talk to pharmaceutical companies so that other cities would also have access to the vaccines.
President Rodrigo Duterte gave the go-signal for local government units (LGUs) to purchase AstraZeneca vaccines co-developed with Oxford University’s Jenner Institute and Oxford Vaccine Group.
So what can people expect from LGUs for COVID-19 vaccination program?
The national government’s Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) and other concerned agencies explained that the poorest of the poor will be prioritized.
The IATF said LGUs are expected to prepare a priority listing of people to be vaccinated by geographical area and sector.
Other people on the government’s priority list are the elderly, frontliners, the police and military.
LGUs are expected to prepare an inventory of possible vaccination centers, both public and private hospitals, and vaccination areas.
President Rodrigo Duterte suggested making police precincts and military camps as vaccination centers.
Local governments should also prepare an inventory of cold chain storage and transportation available like ambulance, vans, trucks, and air and naval vehicles.
They are likewise tasked to prepare quick response or QR codes for people to be vaccinated.
This will be in coordination with the Philippine Statistics Authority for the national identification card.
Local governments should prepare the required people and vaccinators to be mobilized and the cost for their training, orientation, and simulation.
They are also encouraged to enter into a tripartite agreement with the national government and a vaccine company./PN
