Cheaper and doesn’t require supercold
By J. Jala | 04:50 PM January 15, 2021
Bohol Governor Arthur Yap said he preferred to acquire the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine manufactured by AstraZeneca.
“The lowest price, second, they do not have refrigeration problem,’’ Yap said in a Zoom interview on Friday afternoon, January 15, 2021.
Yap said the procurement of the P100 million worth of vaccines is “under negotiation.”
Most local government units (LGUs) in the country preferred the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Some LGUs that have already signed deals with the British-Swedish pharmaceutical firm for the purchase of Covid-19 vaccines are the cities of Las Piñas, Mandaluyong, Makati, Manila, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Caloocan, Pasig, Quezon City, San Juan, Taguig, Valenzuela in Metro Manila; the cities of Antipolo, Baguio, Dagupan, Vigan in Luzon; the cities of Bacolod, Iloilo, and Ormoc in the Visayas and the cities of Davao, Oroquieta and Zamboanga in Mindanao.
The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) said that initially the LGUs were allowed to independently negotiate for the purchase of their vaccines provided that they would coordinate them with the National Task Force as pharmaceutical firms are prohibited from selling the vaccines directly to the LGUs.
DILG said national government is ready to aid LGUs with meager or no enough funds for the acquisition of Covid-19 vaccines.
