Bulacan city eyes buying COVID-19 jabs from 3 vaccine-makers via tripartite deal

FILE PHOTO: A woman holds a small bottle labelled with a “Coronavirus COVID-19 Vaccine” sticker and a medical syringe in this illustration taken October 30, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

MANILA, Philippines – San Jose del Monte City in Bulacan is eyeing to procure its COVID-19 vaccine supply from three drugmakers via tripartite agreements with the national government.

According to San Jose del Monte Lone District Rep. Florida Robes, they are in talks with the makers of Russia’s Sputnik V and China’s CoronaVac, and British-Swedish pharma AstraZeneca.

She also said that they are preparing documents for the tripartite deal.

“We want to give our residents what’s available the soonest possible time. I will personally see to it that we administer the vaccines to our frontliners, senior citizens, and indigents the earliest time possible so that we can move forward from this pandemic,” Robes said in a statement Thursday.

Based on the national government’s policy, all local government units must procure COVID-19 vaccines through a tripartite agreement with the National Task Force Against COVID-19 (NTF), Department of Health, and pharmaceutical companies in order to integrate and consolidate all of the country’s resources and initiatives against the new coronavirus.

Robes, who is also the chair of the House committee on people’s participation, previously renewed her call for the establishment of a manufacturing hub so the Sputnik V jab can be produced in the Philippines.

KGA