MANILA, Philippines — The Manila City government will soon build a cold storage facility for the COVID-19 vaccines they are set to purchase for their residents.
On Monday, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno said the city government will be building a storage facility with 12 refrigeration units for the vaccines soon. He added they will also acquire 50 transport cooler units for the vaccines.
Related Stories
Moreno said refrigeration units, which are expected to be delivered in “coming months,” can store around 300,000 vaccines at a time.
The city mayor added that the refrigeration units can store vaccines from various brands such as Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, Novavax and Sinovac.
RELATED: Philippines lacks freezers to stock up coronavirus vaccine
Also on Monday, the Manila Public Information Office disclosed that the LGU has signed a deal for the purchase of 800,000 vaccines under an agreement with the National Task Force on COVID-19, Department of Health and AstraZeneca.
NEWS ALERT: Manila City Mayor @IskoMoreno announces that the local government has closed a deal for the acquisition of 800,000 vaccines under a tripartite agreement with NTF, DOH and AstraZeneca.#AlertoManileno #COVID19PH pic.twitter.com/1MhrHLe7KH
— Manila Public Information Office (@ManilaPIO) January 11, 2021
Moreno has earlier announced it has set aside P250 million for the purchase of vaccines. The Manila government is also urging city residents to sign up on its website for the pre-registration of vaccines.
Several local government units, mostly from Metro Manila, have announced budget allocations for vaccine purchases and, on Monday morning, deals they have signed with pharmaceutical companies.
Local Government Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said Sunday that they welcome larger and richer LGUs taking the initiative to “augment” national government efforts for vaccine acquisition.
Malaya also assured the public that lower-income LGUs will not be left out of the government’s National Vaccination Plan.
The Senate is holding a hearing into the government’s vaccination program on Monday morning. — Kristine Joy Patag with report from The STAR/Romina Cabrera