Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson has asked for 3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for 1.5 million Negros Occidental residents from the national government, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said today, February 9.
The 1.5 million Negrenses represent 70 percent of the province’s population whom the national government promised to provide free COVID-19 vaccines, Diaz said.
They will rely on former Rep. Alfredo Benitez, provincial consultant on economic affairs, to help secure a reasonable share of the AstraZeneca vaccines for Negros Occidental from the national government, which are expected to arrive in the country in the first week of March, he said.
Benitez is at the forefront of the negotiations with the national government because he stays most of the time in Manila and he has a close relationship with President Rodrigo Duterte and Secretary Carlito Galvez, the country’s vaccine czar, Diaz said.
The vaccines are expected to arrive in the country in waves, Diaz said.
The national government vaccines are expected ahead of the 100,000 doses the provincial government is buying from AstraZeneca that will arrive in the third quarter of the year, Diaz said.
Lacson joined a League of Provinces of the Philippines’ Zoom meeting with Galvez and Health Secretary Francisco Duque Friday, where the vaccine rollout plan was discussed, he said.
Another Zoom meeting was also held Monday with the DOH regional office where the registration of residents eligible for vaccination was discussed, Diaz added.
“The primary consideration now is the registration, we have to help our local government units register the persons eligible for vaccination based on the guidelines of the DOH,” he said.
The deadline for registration is the end of February, he said.
A detailed list of persons identified by local government units is being prepared, he said.
“I am expecting that by tomorrow when we finally meet with our mayors all these details will be prepared,” Diaz said.
The DOH will provide all the consumables, such as injections, alcohol and cotton, for the COVID-19 vaccines from the national government for free, he said.
All the waste from the vaccination such as the vials will be collected and returned to the DOH for proper disposal, Diaz said.
The DOH said that 117,000 Pfizer vaccines will arrive in the second or third week of February and about two weeks later 3.5 to 9 million from AstraZeneca will also arrive in the country, he added.
Negros Occidental is not optimistic that it will get a share of the Pfizer vaccines that are being prioritized for Metro Manila, Cebu, and Davao because of their cold storage requirement, Diaz said.*