Galvez: Gov’t exploring how LGUs can help purchase COVID-19 vaccines

The national government is already identifying measures on how local government units can help in purchasing COVID-19 vaccines, vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said Wednesday.

"Bale we are looking at the possibility that the LGU is also part of the government and we are now making some explorations if the LGU will be allowed," Galvez said at Kapihan sa Manila Bay's virtual forum.

Galvez, also the chief implementer of the government's COVID-19 efforts, said mayors from the National Capital Region have expressed intentions to assist the national government in its COVID-19 vaccination program.

"During our talk with NCR mayors, they are more than willing to help and also they wanted to unburden the government because vaccinating 110 million people is a huge task for us and very unprecedented," Galvez said.

The Philippine government is eyeing to procure COVID-19 vaccines from four countries, namely the United States (Pfizer), China (Sinovac), Russia (Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology), and the United Kingdom (AztraZeneca).

Last Friday, the Philippine government, the private sector, and AstraZeneca inked a tripartite agreement for the country to secure a supply of 2.6 million doses of the pharmaceutical firm’s potential COVID-19 vaccine.

This supply, which will be paid for by the private sector, will inoculate over one million Filipinos as the British drugmaker's vaccine requires two doses. — RSJ, GMA News