(Eagle News) — The Quezon City government announced that the city will “receive an initial 1.1 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine” against COVID-19 after signing a tripartite agreement with the national government and AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals Philippines.
Quezon City mayor Joy Belmonte said that the additional doses of AstraZeneca vaccines will be coming by the third quarter of this year. This is an increase from the previous 750,000 doses that it had initially ordered for 375,000 individuals.
“This is part of the plan of our Task Force Vax to Normal. Now that we have secured 1.1 million doses, we will continue talking to other pharmaceutical companies to secure more vaccines for QCitizens to complement the national government’s goal. When more QCitizens are vaccinated, we can soon achieve herd immunity,” Mayor Belmonte said in a statement.
The tripartite deal was done through the Inter-agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF).
Belmonte said that this will boost the city’s vaccination program and cater to more members of the priority sectors identified by the World Health Organization.
“From the first order of 750,000 doses for 375,000 individuals from priority sectors, the additional doses will increase the number of beneficiaries to around 550,000 individuals,” a statement from the Quezon City government said.
Task Force Vax to Normal Co-chair Joseph Juico said that the local government will be fully hands-on in the inoculation program including the identification of beneficiaries, administration of the vaccines, and monitoring of the individuals who will receive the vaccines.
“While we will be handling all systems and processes of this program, the national government will supervise us in all areas. We will ensure that our efforts are in line with the national government’s roadmap and vaccine guidelines,” Juico said.
-QC to double, even triple number of health care workers-
The Quezon City government also announced that it will be increasing its healthcare workers by “two to three times more.”
“It is also finalizing its vaccination sites which will be strategically scattered in nine sites across the city,” it said,
Quezon City also announced that it is currently in talks with a third party private company for the storage and handling of vaccines. It said that the company also “has the capability to also help in patient monitoring and data gathering.”
“This partnership with the third party will be long-term and will include management of the city’s vaccines for polio, measles, and others,” it said without identifying the said private firm.
Earlier, the city council approved the resolution authorizing Belmonte to enter into a tripartite agreement with the National Task Force Against COVID-19 and the AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals Philippines for the advance purchase of a COVID-19 vaccine.
(Eagle News Service)
