Digicast Negros
January 4, 2021 by Carla P. Gomez

Former Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said today, January 4, that he expects COVID-19 vaccines to be available in Negros Occidental by February.

Benitez is coordinating with Sec. Carlito Galvez Jr., the country’s vaccine czar, and COVID-19 response chief implementer, for the purchase of the vaccines for Negros Occidental to augment those to be allocated by the national government.

The purchase is open to individuals and private companies in Negros, who would like vaccines for their employees, he said.

The vaccines are almost here in the Philippines, Sinovac from China and Sputnik V from Russia are among the first vaccines expected to be available in the Philippines, Benitez said.

The Chinese and Russian firms have applied for Food and Drug Administration approval and probably will get it within 21 days, he said.

Benitez said the Sinovac vaccine is safe because it uses live virus to stimulate bodies to produce an immune response.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines use synthetic virus, he added.

Benitez said the Philippine government also has an agreement for the purchase AstraZeneca vaccines from the United Kingdom that could arrive in the country in March or April.

The Philippines cannot just wait for the vaccines to be available already, it has to make advance reservations, he said.

He said Negros firms who wish to place orders may make reservations at the Negros Occidental Provincial Economic Development and Investment Center since he is the one coordinating with Galvez.

Private firms who purchase vaccines will have to donate 50 percent of their vaccines to the national government as a form of tax, he said.

“If we want to be safe and free of COVID-19 we have to vaccinate as many people as we can,” Benitez said.

This will require the combined effort of the national, provincial and local governments, and the private sector, he said.

He said because the Department of Health did not place advance reservations for the Pfizer vaccines, when they became available for purchase the Philippines ended up at the bottom of the wait list.

Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said an initial P30 million can be sourced from provincial government funds for the vaccines.

Lacson said he has signed a non-disclosure agreement for COVID-19 vaccines, but did not elaborate.

Efforts to vaccinate at least our health workers and the vulnerable groups for the 2nd quarter of this year are being set in motion, he said.

Be assured that the provincial government is not lagging behind in the allocation of the vaccines, it is working and coordinating with the country’s vaccine czar with the help and assistance of Benitez, he said.

The business community feel that vaccines should be made available at the soonest possible time, because without them it will be difficult for the economy to recover, he said.

The provincial government will allocate funds for the vaccines but will not have enough for the ideal number of 60 percent of the population that is why he is hoping the national government will allocate a big portion for every province in the country.

The governor said he is also urging local government units, especially the cities, to set aside funds to help purchase vaccines for their areas.*