Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 8)— The Quezon City government has formed a task force that will oversee the future acquisition and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in the area, officials said Tuesday.
The task force will be composed of top LGU officials and representatives from private stakeholders, the city government said in its latest press release.
“Ngayong marami ng mga posibleng bakuna ang nagpakita ng potensiyal laban sa virus, dapat na nating paghandaan ang mga hakbang para sa agarang pagbili at distribusyon nito kapag naaprubahan na,” Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said.
[Translation: Now that there are a lot of possible vaccines that show potential against the coronavirus, we already need to take steps for the speedy purchase and distribution once approved.]
“We are organizing early to ensure that the directions set by the national government will be followed, and that those who need the virus most are prioritized,” she added.
Among the duties of the newly-created task force are finalizing the database of the priority sectors and residents, selecting vaccination centers and storage areas, and handling transportation, funding, and information dissemination.
The Philippines has so far secured 2.6 million doses of British drugmaker AstraZeneca through the help of the private sector. The country is also projected to receive doses from China’s Sinovac and Russia’s Gamaleya Institute as early as the first quarter of 2021 amid “advanced” supply negotiations, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez previously said.
