More local governments willing to buy vaccines

MANILA, Philippines – More local governments are inclined to make their own purchases of COVID-19 vaccines even as the Department of Health discouraged them from taking this initiative.

Makati Mayor Abby Binay said Monday that the city government had allocated P1 billion to buy vaccines developed by various pharmaceutical companies abroad.

“After all we have lost this year, we will do whatever it takes to protect our residents, employees, and our business community,” he said in a statement.

The Pasig city government has set aside P300 million, and Mayor Vico Sotto said in a radio interview that he was negotiating with various companies how many doses the city could purchase this year.

Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso said the city expected to initially purchase 400,000 doses of vaccines from its budget of at least P250 million.

Domagoso also encouraged his constituents to register at www.manilacovid19vaccine.com for his free inoculation. As of Monday, more than 30,000 had already signed up, he said.

Valenzuela Mayor Rex Gatchalian said the city government had allocated P150 million for the purchase of vaccines.

Ongoing negotiations

Caloocan Mayor Oscar Malapitan announced that the city government had allocated P125 million for vaccine injections from Pfizer and AstraZeneca. Negotiations with the two companies are ongoing, he said.

Navotas Mayor Toby Tiangco said the city government would fund P20 million to purchase the vaccines, adding that it could still increase the amount, depending on the needs of residents.

Tiangco also cited the results of a poll showing that 84.2 percent of those surveyed among Navotas residents preferred the vaccine produced by Pfizer; 6.10 percent, Modern; and 0.40 percent, Sinopharm.

The mayor of Marikina, Marcelino Teodoro, said that the city government approved last November an allocation of P82.7 million for the purchase of vaccines.

San Juan Mayor Francis Zamora said the city government allocated P50 million last year for the purchase of vaccines. An online registry for COVID-19 vaccination was launched in the city, he said.

“What we need to achieve [is] a clean and clear database with names, addresses, ages and which part of society they belong to, ”said Zamora in an interview.

‘Work with us’

But in an online press conference on Monday, Undersecretary of Health María Rosario Vergeire said that local governments cannot purchase coronavirus vaccines on their own, as only the national government can buy vaccines to be officially authorized. emergency use.

“A product registration certificate cannot be awarded to these vaccines because their trials have not yet been effectively or technically completed. We are only making an exemption because we have a public health emergency, ”he said.

“We urge local governments to work with us because we can pool the funds and the national government can purchase (the vaccines) and we can have an effective distribution system,” Vergeire said. “We can assure local governments that according to the prioritization list, you are included in the list according to the priorities that are officially declared.”

–With reporting from Jodee A. Agoncillo, Krixia Subingsubing and Meg Adonis

The Inquirer Foundation supports our leaders in healthcare and still accepts cash donations to be deposited into the Banco de Oro (BDO) checking account # 007960018860 or donate through PayMaya using this link .

Read next

Don’t miss the latest news and information.

For comments, complaints or inquiries, please contact us.