QC secures 1.1 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine

Quezon City has secured 1.1 million doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine for its residents , the local government said Monday.

The city was one of several local governments that signed a tripartite agreement with AstraZeneca and the national government over the weekend to acquire vaccines for their constituents.

"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 Joy Belmonte said in a press release.

Belmonte said that about 550,000 city residents would be vaccinated in the procurement of 1.1 million doses, as the Astrazeneca-Oxford vaccine is administered in two doses. The vaccines are expected by the third quarter of this year.

Task Force Vax to Normal co-chairperson Joseph Juico said 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 residents who will be vaccinated.

“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.

Meanwhile, Quezon City will also be increasing the number of its healthcare personnel at least twofold. It is also finalizing its vaccination sites, which will be scattered in nine areas across the city.

As for the storage and handling of the vaccines, the city government is also in talks with a third party private company that has the capability to help in patient monitoring and data gathering.

The partnership with the third party will be long-term and will include management of the city’s vaccines for polio, measles, and others, the local government said. — BM, GMA News