Marikina Mayor Marcelino "Marcy" Teodoro on Wednesday revealed that the city government is currently in talks with at least three vaccine makers for advance purchase.
In an interview over DZBB, Teodoro said the city government already signed a non-disclosure deal with a pharmaceutical company Friday (January 8), but there are plans to purchase coronavirus vaccines from other vaccine makers to give residents more option.
"Hindi mo pwedeng pilitin , karapatan nya yan at pati yung sinasabi nilang brand na gusto ng tao, kailangan igalang mo rin yan (You cannot force them to be inoculated. That is their right. And if they prefer a certain brand, we have to respect that)," Teodoro said.
"Dun sa survey na ginawa namin, yung mga tao gustong magpabakuna pero yung tiwala sa brand, dahil nga may mga naririnig silang impormasyon na mga reaksyon, o kaya doon sa mga nangyayari sa ibang brand, yung efficacy at safety nito, gusto nga namin diversified portfolio of vaccines. Yung may pwedeng pagpilian. Kaya nakikipag-usap kami sa mga dalawa o tatlong brand, para yung tao naman may pagpilian (According to a survey we conducted, a lot of our people want to get vaccinated but their trust on a brand depends on the information they get from from other people as well as its efficacy and safety. We want to have a diversified portfolio of vaccines. So they can freely choose. So we're currently talking to about two or three brands)," Teodoro added.
Marikina has reportedly allocated P82.7 million for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccine that is approved by the government.
Teodoro also assured that the local government is already preparing to expand its cold storage facility that will be used to store COVID-19 vaccines. The facility is located at the City Health Office in Barangay Sto. Niño, Marikina.
"Naghahanda kami ng storage kasi kung iba-ibang bakuna yung makukuha ng city, iba-ibang storage requirements pala ang kailangan. Dapat pala uninterrupted power supply ito, hindi pwedeng mawawalan ka ng kuryente (We're preparing our storage facility because vaccines differ in storage requirements. It needs uninterrupted power supply)," Teodoro shared.
In his State of the City Address on Wednesday, Mayor Marcelino Teodoro said the local government’s priority this year is to ensure the access of residents to the vaccine to protect them from the dreaded disease.
“We need to protect our frontliners, those involved in frontline services, medical and non-medical, this is the principle of reciprocity in the vaccination program, we put more premium on those with greater responsibility. We protect them,” Teodoro said.
“Our priority is to ensure the access of our constituents to the vaccine. We shall advocate for equity in access, for equity in choosing life, and survival,” he added.
The mayor has already requested the City Council to grant him the authority to proceed with the city’s vaccination program and approve the budget for the purchase of complementary supplies of COVID-19 vaccine.
“Be assured that we are proceeding with our vaccination program with cautious optimism, as much as we are optimistic that the vaccine is our ticket to normalcy,” he said.
“We will exercise caution in deciding which vaccine shall we approve for our city on the basis of efficacy and safety,” he added.
The city government will form a vaccine task force that will determine what vaccine to support, as well as formulate policies, protocols, and processes in managing vaccine access, distribution, and care monitoring.
Marikina, he said, has also begun the training of profilers who will prepare the list of target sectors that have to be inoculated first.
Teodoro said Marikina will first inoculate frontliners, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, poor residents, as well as low income workers, who are deemed important to the city’s economy.