Quezon City approves P1 billion for COVID-19 vaccine program

The Quezon City government approves its P1 billion for its COVID-19 vaccination program, Joseph Juico, co-chair of Quezon City’s Task Force, said Wednesday.

In an interview with ANC’s “Matters of Fact,” Juico said the budget would be spent to buy other items that would supplement their vaccination program, including personal protective equipment (PPE), syringes, and gloves.

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“We would like them to know that Quezon City government would be setting aside budget for procurement to help the national government because I know it’s a daunting task,” he said.

The local government created “Task Force ‘Vax to Normal: The Quezon City COVID-19 Vaccine Plan” to lead the city’s vaccination program.

As of this posting, Quezon city has recorded 25,925 COVID-19 cases, of which 24,456 have recovered. It still has 731 active cases of COVID-19.

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Juico said ver 1,600 health workers, 284,000 registered senior citizens, and more than 234,000 indigent families would be prioritized for the immunization program.

While waiting for the national government’s vaccine supplies, the task force was asked to look at how to scale up existing vaccination guidelines like polio and pneumonia.

Quezon City approves P1 billion for COVID-19 vaccine program

“Once they say local governments can procure directly from the vaccine companies, then Quezon City is ready to purchase,” Juico said.

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“But at the meantime, while that is still unclear, we’re preparing ourselves, not just for the procurement but also for the logistical requirements needed to vaccinate or inoculate our people.”

Amid the public’s hesitations on the vaccine, Quezon city seeks to partner with experts to strengthen the people’s confidence in its safety and effectiveness and fight misinformation.
“If the mayor or even the heads of department have to be vaccinated first, then I think we’re willing to take that also, to show some level of confidence to our people that it is safe. It is what we need. It is what will bring us back to our normal lives,” Juico said.

“Doing this especially with the holiday season coming up, this would prevent an uptick of all cases in Quezon City and all areas in our country,” he said.

“The more you love your family, then the more distanced you should have with them.”