Iloilo City is donating 60,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to other local government units (LGUs) through the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP).
Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas said the LCP and the Inter-Agency Task Force are helping in identifying recepients of the vaccine against COVID-19.
So far, the province of Isabela and the city of Candon in Ilocos Sur have signified their interest to receive the vaccine.
Isabela Governor Rodolfo T. Albano III, in his letter dated March 1, asked for 20,000 doses, preferably those with expiry date on April 2022.
“Your vaccine donation is very timely as our health workers from various LGUs will go from house to house even to the most remote barangays to get the inoculation done, especially to our senior citizens and PWDs,” Albano wrote.
Isabela, the second largest province in the country, targets to inoculate 1, 257, 227 or 80 percent of its 1.6 million adult population to achieve its target immunity.
As of Feb. 28, 2022, 4.9 percent of Isabela’s eligible adults are still unvaccinated against COVID-19 while only 10 of 36 LGUs were able to achieve at least 80 percent vaccination rate.
The City of Candon in Ilocos Sur, on the other hand, asked for 3,000 doses.
Candon City Mayor Ericson G. Singson said their city does not only cater to residents but also to those from nearby municipalities who wish to be vaccinated.
“The free vaccines will be a big help for us to speed up our vaccination efforts to reach our 100% target herd immunity,” he wrote.
Treñas said he is waiting for an authority from Iloilo City Council relative to the donations.
Iloilo City has fully vaccinated 472, 032 individuals or 122.14 percent of its target population as Feb. 28, 2022.
In Western Visayas, several LGUs also availed of vaccines donated by Iloilo City.IMT
