Bacolod signs deal with AstraZeneca, earmarks P300M for vaccine procurement

The Bacolod City government has signed a multilateral agreement and confidentiality agreement with AstraZeneca on the availment of COVID-19 vaccine doses.

Mayor Evelio Leonardia signed the agreement with AstraZeneca at the Government Center on Thursday, January 7.

Leonardia said in a press conference that the city government will earmark P300 million for the procurement of coronavirus vaccine doses.

He said the city is starting to prepare the funds for the vaccines, adding that the local government is “willing to augment, realign, revert any and all items in our budget if the need arises.”

The mayor said that he could not reveal the exact number of vaccine doses to be allocated to the city because of the confidentiality agreement with AstraZeneca. (READ: Why the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine is now a global game changer)

“We don’t know which pharmaceutical company in the country that will be given approval by the Food and Drug Administration. We don’t know the final figure of the vaccine [to be procured]. We don’t have a clear cut assurance if when this is going to happen,” he said.

Leonardia added that city officials “will do everything so we can get a maximum of what we’re looking for.”

City Administrator Em Ang, also the executive director of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), said the deal signed by the mayor was for the advance placement of the vaccine doses.

“We have to wait for the national government for the issuance of the emergency use of authorization. In a way, we are privileged we entered in an agreement for the advance procurement because we have an assurance that once the vaccine is ship to the Philippines, Bacolod will have an allocation,” Ang said.

Priority list

Asked about the priority list for vaccination in the city, Ang said that the city will follow the guidelines of the Department of Health and the National Inter-Agency Task Force: frontline health workers and the vulnerable sector such as the senior citizens, police, and teachers.

Dr Chris Sorongon, EOC deputy for medical, said that the city’s Vaccination Council, comprised of 9 committees, is starting to roll out their plans of action as “we are formalizing the vaccination road map.”

Right now, the focus is the information education campaign to educate the residents on the benefits of getting inoculated against COVID-19.

“We want to focus on providing accurate information,” Sorongon said.

Free?

When asked, Leonardia, said that “in general, we want to give it (vaccine) to the people for free.”

However, he pointed out that in other localities, private employers have negotiated to avail of the vaccines for their employees.

“We’re expecting that they will pay for it for their employees” as part of their social responsibility,” he said.

When asked, Leonardia said if he wanted to be inoculated once the vaccines are available but he would have to consult with his doctors first.

Leonardia has asked the Sangguniang Panlungsod, headed by Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, to authorize him to enter into a contract with any pharmaceutical company legally operating in the Philippines for the availment of COVID-19 vaccines duly approved by the FDA.

The mayor said that 49 of the 61 of over 70% of barangays barangays in the city are COVID-free but reminded residents to continue observing the health protocols against the disease. – Rappler.com