Taguig inks COVID-19 vaccine deal with AstraZeneca

The city government of Taguig signed an agreement with AstraZeneca for the acquisition of COVID-19 vaccines for its residents.

In a press release Monday, Mayor Lino Cayetano said the national government's allotment for Taguig City would come first before the procurement of the city government. He said the vaccine from the national government would be allotted for healthcare workers and members of the vulnerable sector.

"The national government’s allotment will come first. We expect it during the first quarter but that will be for medical frontliners and the vulnerable sectors so we have already been preparing our vaccination sites and vaccination protocols,” Cayetano said.

“We want, however, all Taguigeños to have access to the COVID vaccine. All LGU procurement of vaccines, we are told will come after the national government allotment and that will be sometime during the last quarter of 2021,” he added.

The city government allotted a total of P1 billion for its inoculation program. Cayetano said the city has been planning for the vaccination of its residents since September 2020.

Aside from AstraZeneca, Taguig is also talking with other pharmaceutical companies for the procurement of vaccines. He also assured city residents that Taguig is ready amid the issues on the transportation and storage of COVID-19 vaccines.

"Following the advice of our scientists and experts, we are looking at all available options and continue to be aggressive in our preparation and research into other vaccines and new technologies to help end COVID-19,” Cayetano said.

“We have one of the best public immunization programs in the country and the DOH has cited Taguig in the past years for this,” he added.

He also said Taguig is working on a rollout plan for vaccines that need sub-zero temperatures like Pfizers’ BNT162b2.

“This is why we prepared for several vaccines, we want to be ready to execute based on what it’s immediately available. The goals in vaccination remain to be able to inoculate all Taguigeños safely and immediately," Cayetano said.

Aside from Taguig, the cities of Makati, Navotas, Quezon, San Juan, Manila, Caloocan, and Valenzuela also signed deals with AstraZeneca for their respective vaccination programs. — DVM, GMA News