SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique – The Antique provincial government is eyeing to procure coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines for its healthcare workers and residents this June.
Antique Governor Rhodora J. Cadiao, in a media interview, said the province has already pooled PHP31.5 million for the purchase of the doses.
Cadiao added the initial PHP10 million allocation of the provincial government will be pooled with that of the municipalities.
Cadiao was interviewed during the meeting of the Inter-Agency Task Force for Covid-19 and the League of Municipalities in the Philippines (LMP) Antique Chapter at the Binirayan Gymnasium in San Jose de Buenavista on Tuesday.
She added that she asked municipal mayors who were present as to how much they could allocate for the vaccines so they could make reservations by June. Antique province has 18 municipalities.
Belison will be allocating PHP7 million; Laua-an, PHP4 million; San Remigio, PHP3 million; Barbaza and Pandan with PHP2 million each; Libertad, PHP1.5 million; and Anini-y and Tobias Fornier at PHP1 million each.
The island municipality of Caluya, whose mayor was not present, informed the IATF that the town will be allocating PHP10 million.
The provincial government has yet to ask the towns of Valderrama, San Jose de Buenavista, and Patnongon as to how much they could allocate.
“We are looking at AstraZeneca because we learned that their Covid-19 (vaccine) is more affordable at only around PHP600 per dose,” she said.
She added she will have a Zoom meeting with vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. to inquire on how to reserve for the vaccines.
Cadiao said Antique has to be ready to provide the vaccine for its own residents in anticipation that the national government might prioritize areas with a high number of Covid-19 cases.
For the past three months, Antique has been under the modified general community quarantine low risk. (PNA)
