FILE PHOTO: Vials with a sticker reading, “COVID-19 / Coronavirus vaccine / Injection only” and a medical syringe are seen in front of a displayed AstraZeneca logo in this illustration taken October 31, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic
MANILA, Philippines — More local government units (LGUs) across the country have announced signing a deal with British-Swedish pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines for their respective constituents.
Among the LGUs that have secured doses of the UK-based vaccine are the following:
Las Piñas City
Las Piñas Mayor Imelda Aguilar said the city had allocated P200 million for the procurement of 300,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Aguilar earlier said that it would offer COVID-19 vaccines for free to its frontliners, including medical and health care workers, government employees, police personnel, senior citizens, and indigent residents.
Mandaluyong City
The city government of Mandaluyong on Monday also confirmed signing a tripartite deal with AstraZeneca and the national government. However, Mayor Carmelita “Menchie” Abalos refused to disclose information on the number of doses and the amount involved in the agreement.
The city has allocated an initial P200 million in its 2021 budget to procure vaccines and supplies needed for the inoculation.
Makati City
Makati City Mayor Abby Binay said that she signed a tripartite agreement on January 10 with AstraZeneca and the national government for the procurement of one million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The mayor earlier announced that the city has allocated P1 billion for the COVID-19 vaccine procurement program. Binay also added that the city government will soon an online registration portal for the city’s COVID-19 vaccination drive.
City of Manila
The Manila City government announced on Monday it has closed a deal for the acquisition of 800,000 COVID-19 vaccines under a tripartite agreement with the National Task Force against COVID-19, Department of Health, and British-Swedish pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca.
The Manila City Public Information Office (PIO) also said that Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso has also inked documents for the acquisition of 12 refrigeration units and 50 transport cooler units for the vaccines.
Last year, the city government of Manila launched an online portal where Manileños can sign up and pre-register for the planned free COVID-19 vaccine.
Muntinlupa City
Similar to other Metro Manila LGUs, Mayor Jaime Fresnedi of Muntinlupa City has also signed a tripartite agreement with the National Task Force against COVID-19 (NTF) and AstraZeneca for the advance purchase of 100,000 doses to inoculate residents in “high priority groups.”
The city earmarked a P170 million initial budget for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines.
Navotas City
On Monday, Mayor Toby Tiangco announced that 50,000 residents of the city will be the first to be inoculated with COVID-19 vaccines that are expected to arrive by the second half of 2021.
This is after Navotas City signed a deal for the acquisition of 100,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca.
The city government of Navotas has a P20 million budget that is set aside for the procurement of the COVID-19 vaccine, but Tiangco added that the figure may still be increased.
Caloocan City
The local government of Caloocan City has also made a deal with the pharmaceutical firm for the advance procurement of at least 600,000 jabs of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Mayor Oscar Malapitan earlier assured residents of free COVID-19 vaccines this year. He also said that the city government has allotted P125 million for the inoculation of its constituents.
Parañaque City
The city government of Parañaque on Wednesday announced that it has signed a deal with AstraZeneca for the procurement of 200,000 vaccine doses to be given to its residents for free. Mayor Edwin Olivarez said there is an allocated P250 million and an additional P1 billion “standby” to fund its vaccination program for more than 600,000 residents.
Pasay City
Mayor Emi Calixto-Rubiano of Pasay City said on Wednesday that the city government has signed a deal with AstraZeneca to purchase 275,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines which will be used to inoculate residents for free.
Pasig City
Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto announced in a Facebook post on January 10 that the city government has ordered 400,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca worth P100 million.
Sotto earlier said the city government has allotted P300 million for the procurement of vaccines, but added that this amount may still increase.
Quezon City
The Quezon City government announced on January 5 that Mayor Joy Belmonte signed a tripartite agreement with AstraZeneca and the National Task Force against COVID-19
Earlier, the Quezon City local government said it was finalizing talks for the acquisition of 750,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines from the British drugmaker.
Among those who are prioritized to receive the vaccine in Quezon City are 10,000 health workers, 300,000 senior citizens, and 20,000 adults with disabilities. The city government allocated P1 billion for the vaccine purchase,
San Juan City
Mayor Francis Zamora said in a statement that an agreement between the San Juan City government, AstraZeneca, and the national government was signed to secure doses of COVID-19 vaccines.
The mayor did not say how many doses were involved in the deal. However, he said that the city government has set aside P50 million for the purchase of the vaccines for its constituents.
On January 4, San Juan City launched a registration program for the city’s inoculation drive. A total of 8,310 individuals have already signed up to get a jab of the vaccine.
Taguig City
A deal between AstraZeneca and Taguig City was already signed, Mayor Lino Edgardo Cayetano said in a press release on Monday.
The city government has earmarked P1 billion for its citywide free vaccine from its P13.5 billion 2021 recovery fund.
Valenzuela City
Valenzuela City has secured an advance purchase of 640,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine after signing a deal with the pharmaceutical firm.
According to the city government, the vaccines that are expected to arrive in the second half of 2021 will inoculate at least 320,000 individuals, “which is 70% of the target population of the city (18 years old below are excluded).”
Antipolo City
Antipolo City signed its deal with AstraZeneca on Sunday for P300 million worth of vaccines, city information officer Relly Bernardo said on Monday.
Baguio City
Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong signed a deal with AstraZeneca on Monday to secure doses that are good for 70 percent of the city’s 350,000 population.
The arrangement was part of a tripartite agreement between the company, the Department of Health, and the National Task Force (NTF) on Emerging and Re-emerging Disease.
The city has set aside P100 million for the vaccine purchase.
Dagupan City
Dagupan City Mayor Brian Lim said there will be 160,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine for the city.
The vulnerable sectors, especially the medical front-liners and elderly residents, will be prioritized for the vaccination.
Ilocos Norte
In Ilocos Norte, Gov. Matthew Marcos Manotoc stated that the 120,000 doses from AstraZeneca would initially vaccinate at least 60,000 residents of the province.
Vigan City
Mayor Juan Carlo Medina shared that Vigan City has reached an agreement with AstraZeneca for the advance purchase of 100,000 to 120,000 doses of its coronavirus vaccines.
“We ordered doses enough to vaccinate all residents of Vigan City aged 18 years old and above,” Medina said in a statement on January 10.
Bacolod City
On January 7, Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia inked a multilateral and confidentiality agreement with AstraZeneca for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines.
Leodnardia said the city government has allotted P300 million pesos for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccine doses.
Iloilo City
Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas announce in a Facebook post on January 10 that the city has signed a multilateral agreement for the purchase of 600,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine for 300,000 Iloilo residents.
Ormoc City
Mayor Richard Gomez of Ormoc City on January 10 has also signed electronically their purchase order for the supply of 270,000 vaccines of AstraZeneca. The vaccines are expected to roll out by July this year.
Davao City
Mayor Sara Duterte confirmed that they have secured a commitment from the UK vaccine maker AstraZeneca for the purchase of vaccines against COVID-19.
According to the Davao City mayor, the vaccines may arrive by the third quarter of 2021. However, she did not disclose other information yet about the deal as this would be covered by the nondisclosure agreement.
Oroquieta City
Lemuel Meyrick Acosta, mayor of Oroquieta City in Misamis Occidental, said they signed an agreement with AstraZeneca for 120,000 vaccine doses.
According to a social media post by Acosta, the secured doses would cover 60,000 residents aged 18 years old and older out of the estimated total city population of 70,757.
The local government had allocated an initial P30 million for the vaccines. The mayor did not disclose further details due to the nondisclosure agreement that he signed with the company.
Zamboanga City
Zamboanga City Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar said in a statement that she had signed a multilateral agreement with the UK-based firm to purchase more than 400,000 doses of vaccines for the city’s 250,000 residents.
Salazar said a P100 million budget will be used for the vaccines. She added that another P100 million could still be used to purchase other brands of COVID-19 vaccines.
The city aims to vaccinate 694,696 residents or roughly 70 percent of the city’s 992,423 population projected in 2021.
Private firms also eyeing AstraZeneca
Aside from the LGUs, Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Conception also announced that over 200 Philippine companies are also set to sign a tripartite deal with the British drugmaker and the national government.
According to Concepcion, the deal involves at least 3 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines, half of which will be donated to the national government while the other half will be used for the companies’ employees.
This will be the second deal between private firms and the government for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines. In November, around 30 companies inked a deal to purchase 2.6 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines worth around P700 million.
AstraZeneca’s vaccine is one of the cheaper vaccines included in the data released by the Senate committee on finance chair Sonny Angara in December. It is only worth P610 for two doses per person.
In terms of efficacy rate, researchers earlier noted the efficacy rate for two doses – with the first dose at half strength – reached 90 percent. While a combination of two full-strength doses only resulted in 62 percent efficacy.
According to a January 9 study released by The Lancet, a weekly general medical journal, AstraZeneca’s overall vaccine efficacy rate was 70 percent.
During trials conducted between April 23 and November 4, 2020, where 23,848 participants were enrolled and 11,636 participants (7548 in the UK, 4088 in Brazil) were included in the interim primary efficacy analysis, participants who received two standard doses, “vaccine efficacy was 62·1%, while participants who received a low dose followed by a standard dose, efficacy was 90·0%. Overall vaccine efficacy across both groups was 70·4%,” the journal article stated.
It is still unclear why the efficacy rate in the group who received a combination of half strength and full strength doses are higher than the other group.
On January 6, the local Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) announced that the UK-based vaccine manufacturer is preparing its application for an emergency use authorization (EUA) of its COVID-19 vaccines in the Philippines.
“AstraZeneca is also preparing for their submission because they already got their EUA from the United Kingdom and India and I believe they will be submitting very soon. We are anticipating that one,” FDA director-general Eric Domingo said over ABS-CBN News Channel.
Coordination with NTF on vaccination plans
Meanwhile, Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año directed LGUs to work with the NTF against COVID-19 about vaccine procurements to avoid duplication of inoculation against the coronavirus disease.
“We thank the LGUs for augmenting the efforts of the National Government. We are on track to purchase some 184 million doses from several manufacturers and the procurement by LGUs will be a big help to inoculate more people,” Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said in a statement on January 7.
“The President has approved the tripartite approach in LGU procurement. We will follow this system to ensure that all involved parties are on the same page. So all LGUs who are planning vaccine procurement must coordinate with vaccine czar Charlie Galvez,” he added.
National Task Force Against COVID-19 deputy chief implementer Vince Dizon has said earlier that LGUs may secure doses of vaccines only through tripartite agreements with manufacturers and the national government.