TACLOBAN CITY-The provincial government of Leyte has allocated P20 million for the procurement of vaccines against coronavirus (COVID-19) once it is available in the market.
This was disclosed by Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla who said that the around 40,000 vaccines are projected to be procured by the provincial government with such budget.
The province is looking at Pfizer or AstraZeneca as possible supplier of the vaccines.
According to the governor, they have already coordinated of their plan to buy their own supply with Sec. Carlito Galvez Jr, the chief implementer to National Action Plan vs COVID-19 who is the only authorized person by the national government to negotiate for the purchase of vaccine.
Petilla disclosed that in the conduct of vaccination, the province will first analyze the provincial data to determine who are going to be the priority for the vaccine. Most probably to be first on the list are those who had been tested positive from the disease.
Leyte has the highest number of COVID-19 in the province with more than 3,000 cases.
“We will have to check the profile of these patients. What are their profession, where they live, are they staying in urban centers or rural area, and other informations. If we are able to get enough information, those who fits in that profile, they are to be prioritized in the vaccination,” Petilla said.
He added that another possible basis in conducting vaccination is identifying the areas with the most number of COVID-19 cases.
“But these are not yet final. We still have to discuss this with our strategists. Take note that it is not only vaccine that can kill virus. Many had already recovered using the combination of the health protocols. We are imposing and adding it with vaccine then we can bring this down to zero with the proper strategy of vaccination,”Petilla said.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
