By Joseph B.A. Marzan
Iloilo province will receive today, July 15, 2021, the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines it procured early this year.
In January 2021, the Iloilo provincial government signed a tripartite agreement with British drugmaker AstraZeneca to procure 271,000 doses of its AZD1222 vaccine.
A P95-million budget was earmarked and approved by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan for the vaccine acquisition.
Apart from its procurement, Iloilo province also received COVID-19 vaccine doses which were either donated or procured by the national government.
Data from the Iloilo Provincial Health Office (IPHO) indicated that as of 8:30 p.m. of July 14, the provincial government has administered a total of 144,008 doses of COVID-19 vaccines. (37,857 AZD1222, 103,624 Coronavac, and 2,527 BnT162b2).
In a press conference Thursday, Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. confirmed the arrival of 7,560 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines they procured.
The governor said the small volume of vaccine delivery was due to the private sector’s procurement last November 2020.
“We will strategize with that [number of vaccines] first, with what can be done. The question is that, can we strategically focus this because we bought this, not being that many arriving, where it can be delivered and what strategies will be good?” Defensor said.
As to inoculation of the A4 (frontline personnel in essential sectors, including uniformed personnel) and A5 (indigent population) populations, Defensor said he would seek clarification first on how to implement the vaccination.
The National Task Force Against COVID-19 issued Advisory No. 61 on July 2 allowing areas with a surge in COVID-19 cases to start administering jabs to A4 and A5 sectors.
Defensor said he was advised by Presidential Peace Adviser and “vaccine czar” Carlito Galvez Jr. to focus on prioritizing individuals under priority groups A2 (senior citizens) and A3 (persons with comorbidities).
Data from the Department of Health-Western Visayas Center for Health Development (DOH-WV CHD) indicated that the province has already administered first doses to 940 individuals under the A4 group, with 7 already receiving their second dose as of July 13.
The same data set also indicated that two persons under A5 category already received their first dose.
“We did receive the [NTF COVID-19] notice, but I am still clarifying because the latest advisories for us by Sec. Galvez for the latest [vaccine] batches came with the reminder to focus on the A2 and A3 groups (sic). We will have to reconcile that first,” he said.
