The Muntinlupa City government has signed a tripartite deal with biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals Philippines and the National Task Force against COVID-19 (NTF) for the advance purchase of coronavirus vaccines.
Mayor Jaime Fresnedi signed the agreement for the advance purchase of 100,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to initially inoculate residents in high priority groups including medical frontliners.
Metro Manila mayors earlier signed separate agreements with AstraZeneca for the purchase of its vaccines.
Fresnedi said the agreement is only an augmentation of the national government’s vaccination plan and noted that the Department of Health (DOH) will also provide additional vaccines for the rest of Muntinlupa residents.
The city earlier set aside an initial amount of P170 million for the purchase of coronavirus vaccines once these becomes available in the country.
A COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force will be created to oversee the local immunization program. According to Muntinlupa City Health Officer Dr. Teresa Tuliao, the city government is preparing for the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines by training personnel for the operational logistics and vaccine administration.
She said the City Health Office has coordinated with local storage rental facilities in the city for the cold chain management of vaccines.
Members of the city’s vaccination team will undergo training for vaccine storage and handling practices, vaccine administration and health communication on how to talk to patients about COVID-19 vaccines.
As of Jan. 10, Muntinlupa has 5,177 confirmed COVID-19 cases with 4,956 recoveries, 167 deaths and 54 active cases.