The City of San Juan has released an advance payment to Swedish-British biopharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca for 100,000 jabs of its COVID-19 vaccines, Mayor Francisco “Francis” Zamora announced Tuesday (February 23).
"San Juan City already made a down payment yesterday, February 22, 2021, to AstraZeneca, as part of our contractual obligation for the 100,000 doses of vaccines we ordered," Zamora said.
However, Zamora did not disclose the exact amount of the down payment, citing a non-disclosure agreement with the national government and AztraZeneca.
"While waiting for the vaccines, the city is preparing for their arrival including regular simulation activities to improve the vaccination process," the mayor said.
Based on the city's records, there are 27,065 residents, 3,456 healthcare workers in San Juan who have already pre-registered to be inoculated against the COVID-19 as of February 22.
On February 18, President Duterte signed a memorandum order (MO) allowing local government units (LGUs) to make advanced payments to pharmaceutical companies to purchase COVID-19 vaccines.
San Juan LGU has allocated P50 million for the procurement of vaccines against COVID-19.
The San Juan City Council has passed Ordinance No. 75, Series of 2020 appropriating the funds for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines “and other related activities.”