The City Health Office is eyeing to vaccinate at least 70 percent of the population against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), with front-line workers and vulnerable groups as priority.

Dr. Dulce Amor Miravite, city health officer, said Wednesday the vaccines would be most likely available sometime in the third quarter of this year.

Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar signed Monday a multilateral agreement with AstraZeneca to supply 410,000 doses of vaccines worth PHP100 million.

Currently, Miravite said they are finalizing plans for vaccination rollout strategies in the city based on the Department of Health (DOH) guidelines.

She said the priority groups would include healthcare workers, essential and other front-line service providers, and vulnerable populations such as the elderly and poor.

She said the city’s vaccination program would cover 694,696 residents or 70 percent of its projected 2021 population of 992,423 inhabitants.

At least 70 percent of the population should get Covid-19 vaccination to have herd immunity, Miravite pointed out.

Herd immunity is defined as the indirect protection from an infectious disease that happens when a population is immune either through vaccination or immunity developed through the previous infection, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The city government has allocated PHP200 million to purchase vaccines against Covid-19. The amount is included in the 2021 budget of this city.

Salazar said the city government would use the remaining PHP100 million for other vaccine brands. (PNA)