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Thursday, March 28, 2024

QC increases jab allocation to 1.1 million shots

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Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte on Monday disclosed that the city government would receive an initial 1.1 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The city government has signed a tripartite agreement with the national government through the Inter-agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases and AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals Philippines.

“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,” Belmonte said.

The additional allocation of AstraZeneca vaccines to be expected by the third quarter of 2021 would definitely boost the city’s vaccination program and cater to more members of the priority sectors identified by the World Health Organization, she added.

From the first order of 750,000 doses for 375,000 individuals from priority sectors, the additional doses would increase the number of beneficiaries to 550,000 individuals.

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The city council has approved a resolution authorizing Belmonte to enter into a tripartite agreement with the National Task Force Against COVID-19 and the AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals Philippines for the advance purchase of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Former councilor Joseph Juico, Task Force Vax to Normal co-chairperson, said the city government would be fully hands-on in the inoculation program including the identification of beneficiaries, administration of the vaccines, and monitoring of the individuals who will receive the vaccines.

“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,” he said.

The city government would increase its health-care workers by twice or thrice more while finalizing its vaccination sites to be strategically scattered in nine sites.

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

The partnership with the third party would be long-term and will include management of the city’s vaccines for polio, measles, and others.

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