Batanes town readies fund for COVID-19 vaccine

STRICT COMPLIANCE The northernmost province of Batanes has only recorded three COVID-19 cases due to the residents’ strict compliance with health protocols, such as wearing face masks. —ARNEL COMAYA/CONTRIBUTOR

ITBAYAT, BATANES—While COVID-19 vaccines have been undergoing clinical trials worldwide, this northernmost town will realign its resources to have an access to the safest shot that will be available locally, according to its mayor, Raul de Sagon.

De Sagon said the local officials were preparing to fend for themselves as they monitored developments on the vaccines at the national level.

“We have to be ready in case our town won’t be included in the priorities of our government, which has to deal with so many things at this time,” he said.

But he said there was still “no solid base to act on or to plan for [the vaccine] but it is imminent and will soon be coming. By all indications, we will have the vaccine by the first quarter of 2021.”

Batanes has yet to record a local transmission of COVID-19 although it has logged three cases since the pandemic. The most recent case was an 82-year-old man who came here from Cavite province.

De Sagon said the province and other places might be protected from the virus if high-risk areas like Metro Manila, Cagayan and the cities of Baguio, Cebu and Davao would develop herd immunity as priority areas for mass vaccination.

Manufacturers welcomed

In Bataan province, the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (Afab) said it was willing to accommodate any company that would relocate in the economic zone to manufacture the COVID-19 vaccine.

Emmanuel Pineda, Afab administrator, said the agency had learned that some sectors were looking for a site for this venture while waiting for clearance from the Food and Drug Administration.

Manufacturers would enjoy the same protection and privileges given to other free ports and economic zones, he said. —NATHAN ALCANTARA AND GREG REFRACCION INQ