Zambo in talks with other Covid vaccine makers

AFTER SIGNING a deal with British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca for the purchase of some 410,000 doses of Covid vaccines, Zamboanga Mayor Beng Climaco said recently met with representatives of other vaccine manufacturers for additional doses.

Climaco said the local government will allocate P100 million for additional Covid vaccines following talks with US-based Johnson & Johnson. She also thanked Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte for including Zamboanga in the talks.

“The City Government will use the remaining P100 million for other vaccine brands as we just recently met with US-based Johnson & Johnson among others. Again, thank you to Mayor Sara Duterte for inviting Zamboanga City in her discussions with Janssen,” she said.

Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna have also their own Covid vaccines and so are Russia with its Sputnik and China’s Sinovac and Sinopharm. 

Johnson & Johnson recently announced topline efficacy and safety data from the Phase 3 ENSEMBLE clinical trial, demonstrating that the investigational single-dose Covid-19 vaccine in development at its Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies met all primary and key secondary endpoints.

The vaccine candidate was 85 percent effective in preventing severe disease across all regions studied,  28 days after vaccination in all adults 18 years and older. Efficacy against severe disease increased over time with no cases in vaccinated participants reported after day 49.

Climaco said the City government is closely coordinating with the national government for the acquisition of Covid-19 vaccines since Zamboanga is a priority area. 

“With the emergence of a new variant of the virus, we must not let our guards down. We continue to work hard while balancing other functions of government to keep our city safe, restore our vitality as a people, and continuously repair our economy.” 

“As Mayor of this City, I vow that we will not stop doing our jobs and we will continue to sincerely serve our City to keep our people safe just as we have always done since 2013. It takes the whole-of-government effort to accomplish this task. Poreso, ta continua lang siempre el deaton maga programa y proyectos na seguridad, salud y educacion,” she said. 

Priorities 

Climaco said the local government’s vaccination program will prioritize healthcare workers, essential and other frontline service providers, and vulnerable populations such as the elderly and poor. 

The deal she recently signed with AstraZeneca worth a $2 million (or roughly P100 million) are good for some 205,000 residents.

Climaco, who heads the local task force on Covid-19, signed the agreement with AstraZeneca based on the approved authorization of the City Council. The local government’s vaccination program will cover 694,696 residents or 70% of the projected 2021 population of 992,423 inhabitants. 

The initial P200 million for the purchase of the vaccines are included in the P4.38-billion 2021 Executive Budget of the local government, according to Climaco, who is also a member of the Committee on Vaccine Availment of the League of Cities of the Philippines.

She said the local government has been closely coordinating with the national government and the Department of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases, including vaccine czar Carlito Galvez, for the purchase of the Covid-19 vaccines.

Herd Immunity

City Health Officer Dr. Dulce Amor Miravite has said the vaccines will be available by the 3^rd quarter of this year, adding, the local government is now working on plans for the mass inoculation following the guidelines from the Department of Health (DOH). 

“Tene kita guidelines from the DOH, el deaton maga priority groups, con quien kita una man vaccinate and ta mira kita el strategy deaton de que manera hace,” she said, adding, that the local government is targeting at least 70% of the populations in order to reach herd immunity. 

 “Ta habla gane for Covid, at least 70% del population should be protected to have herd immunity para puede man protect con aquellos maga vulnerable populations deaton. Si tene kita budget and available deaton supplies for the vaccine, actually puede kita man vaccinate more than 70%. Pero ta habla gane kita, at least 70% to be protected for us to have herd immunity,” Miravite explained.

Herd immunity is a form of indirect protection from infectious disease that occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population has become immune to an infection, whether through vaccination or previous infections, thereby reducing the likelihood of infection for individuals who lack immunity. 

Climaco said: “The immediate future looks daunting now, but hope is everywhere. This too shall pass. And as in past crises, I am confident that we, as a City, will not only surmount this pandemic. We will bounce back stronger and greater than ever. Cay ta crea iyo na favor del Dios y na de aton unidad, ay sale kita mas mafuerza, mas valiente, mas resiliente y lleno de esperanza para keda victorioso na maskin cosa pa man desefios kita ay enfrenta.” (Jasmine Mohammadsali, Zamboanga Post)

  

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