Iloilo City expects COVID-19 vaccine doses from AstraZeneca in Q3

The Iloilo City Government is expecting the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines it ordered from British drugmaker AstraZeneca in the third quarter of 2021.

City COVID-19 Team spokesperson Jeck Conlu, in an interview on IMT Conversations, said the initial batch of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines may arrive in July.

“Indi naton mahambal nga sini nga year maubos nila padala tanan. Ang schedule lang guid nga makalab-ot sa aton amo ini nga third quarter. Waay pa kita kabalo kon san-o ang next nga delivery.”

The initial batch, according to Conlu, is around 50,000 vials.

“Ginalantaw naton nga until next year pa ni ang bakuna. Definitely, indi siya posible nga matapos subong nga tuig,” he said.

Last month, the city government paid 20 percent of its vaccine allocations for the purchase of the 600,000 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines.

The vaccine doses can benefit 300,000 residents of the city. Each person needs two doses of the vaccines.

In a previous interview, Mayor Jerry Treñas said they would also seek additional reservations from AstraZeneca, Novavax, and Janssen for 100,000 persons.Angelique Amira Jabian/IMT