The City Government of Navotas sealed an agreement with British pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca for the advance purchase of 100,000 doses of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine.
Mayor Toby Tiangco signed the multilateral agreement Sunday with AstraZeneca, National Task Force Against COVID-19, and Department of Health.
“The initial amount of vaccines we have ordered will enable us to inoculate the first batch of 50,000 Navoteños. We will give top priority to our health frontliners then our senior citizens. Others will follow as soon as we have secured the most vulnerable sectors in our community,” Tiangco said.
“We are also preparing for the purchase of more COVID vaccines. While we are still waiting for their arrival, please continue to be vigilant. Always practice the minimum safety protocols and keep yourselves healthy,” he added.
Tiangco noted that vaccination is voluntary. Navoteños 18 years old and above who are willing to be inoculated will be given two doses of the vaccine.
The vaccine is expected to be delivered on the second half of 2021.
On December 29, Navotas conducted an informal survey with 6,128 respondents to determine Navoteños’ preferences on COVID vaccines. The survey showed 18% of Navoteños wish to get vaccinated regardless of brand.
Meanwhile, 64.10% are willing to undergo vaccination depending on the brand. Of this, 3.8% want to get the AstraZeneca jab.
“We used the survey results as bases for our decision to buy vaccines. We hope we will also be able to secure other preferred brands within this year,” Tiangco said.
Navotas allotted an initial fund of P20 million for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines.