The Muntinlupa City government will order an additional 200,000 doses of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine from British pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca.
Mayor Jaime Fresnedi said the city government has requested for an additional purchase of 200,000 doses as part of an earlier tripartite agreement with the National Task Force against COVID-19 (NTF) and AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals Philippines.
Together with the initial order of 100,000 doses, Muntinlupa’s vaccine order will increase to 300,000 doses.
Muntinlupa Public Information chief Tez Navarro said the city’s budget for the vaccine purchase is still P170 million.
Fresnedi pointed out that the agreement will only augment the national government’s vaccine supply and said the Department of Health will continue to provide additional vaccines for the inoculation of the rest of Muntinlupa residents.
Dr. Maria Rochelle Abat, National Immunization Program coordinator for COVID-19 in Muntinlupa, said 28 health workers from the City Health Office were already trained for the vaccine administration.
The training of Muntinlupa’s medical personnel was facilitated by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organization (WHO), and DOH last January 12-13. Participants were trained for vaccine administration, managing the side effects of the vaccine, vaccine storage and handling practices, health communication, and waste management.
The training for other health workers from the city-run Ospital ng Muntinlupa and frontliners from private hospitals and clinics is ongoing.
Muntinlupa will launch an information campaign to raise awareness and provide clarification on the immunization program.
An online survey on the COVID-19 vaccine in Muntinlupa is currently being conducted by the Management Information System Office and the Public Information Office.
Recently, OCTA Research’s Tugon ng Masa survey noted that only 25 percent of respondents in Metro Manila are willing to get a COVID-19 vaccine shot when it becomes available in the country.
As of January 14, Muntinlupa has 5,222 confirmed COVID-19 cases including 5,000 recoveries and 167 deaths, leaving only 55 active cases.