National Policy Against Covid-19 chief implementer and vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. on Wednesday cited the crucial role of the local government units (LGUs) in the nationwide implementation of the Covid-19 vaccine roadmap.

“You will be the grassroots implementers of our vaccine program,” Galvez said during the visit of the Covid-19 Coordinated Operations to Defeat Epidemic (CODE) team, led by the National Task Force (NTF) and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) in Taguig City.

Galvez said the LGUs will be in-charge in the preparations of the master list of residents who will be prioritized for vaccination.

LGUs should identify and prepare vaccination sites, he added.

They are also tasked to provide vaccinators who will facilitate the immunization program in their respective localities.

Galvez, meanwhile, lauded the Taguig’s pro-active measures and responsive strategies to contain the further spread of the Covid-19 within communities.

“Early this month, Taguig joined 38 other LGUs in signing a tripartite agreement with the national government and AstraZeneca to purchase Covid-19 vaccines,” he said. “Again, this was a demonstration of your city’s commitment not only to protect your people against the dreaded disease but also to help the national government achieve its goal of procuring safe and effective vaccines for all Filipinos.”

He said Taguig City is ready to roll out the national vaccination program.

“We also learned that Taguig has acquired its own cold storage facility, established a point-to-point logistics transport system, and is now preparing four mega quarantine vaccination centers and 40 community centers as the city gears up for the arrival of the covid-19 vaccines,” he said.

On the other hand, Galvez reiterated that the government’s procured Covid-19 vaccines will undergo the stringent evaluation and selection process of the vaccine expert panel and Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“We guarantee that there will be utmost transparency and accountability in all our negotiations. We commit to disclose all the details of our transactions in due time,” he said.

The government is still waiting to finalize its ongoing negotiations with seven pharmaceutical companies for the acquisition of about 148 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines, he added.

Galvez earlier said premature details of the negotiations could not be disclosed due to the Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) they have signed with the pharmaceutical firms.

The government is expecting the arrival of initial vaccines by February.

“Part of this shipment are vaccines coming from the WHO [World Health Organizations] led Covax facility,” he said.

Under the national vaccine roadmap, Galvez said the government targets to inoculate 50 to 70 million Filipinos this year. (PNA)