THE budget for the purchase of the Covid-19 vaccines in Cebu City will remain untouched until the city achieves herd immunity.
The Cebu City Government has an existing P400 million budget allocated for Covid-19 vaccine purchase.
Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella, in a press conference on May 27, 2021, said the budget will not be used, nor realigned yet.
“We will not use or realign the vaccine budget for other expenses until we achieve herd immunity,” said Labella.
He said as long as the city receives a vaccine allocation from the national government, it will not use its own budget.
Labella said Cebu City is a priority by the national government on vaccine allocations, as vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez told him.
The City was promised by the national government an allocation of 500,000 doses of vaccines as long as the City is capable of storing it.
Labella said the Vaccine Advisory Board has been communicating with Zuellig Pharma, which is capable of storing Pfizer vaccines.
Labella also announced that the Cebu Doctors’ University Hospital (CDUH) offered an area of its facility to be used as vaccination site.
He said the area can accommodate up to 500 persons for vaccination daily.
Cebu City Health Department officer-in-charge Jeffrey Ibones was tasked to prepare a memorandum of agreement between the City and CDUH. (JJL)