Cebu City now in talks with Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City government is now in talks with Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Moderna for the possible procurements of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines.

This is the first time that the city has actively pursued a pharmaceutical company to identify which of these companies will be the vaccine provider for the city, a procurement worth P500 million.

City Administrator Floro Casas Jr., said that the Cebu City Vaccine Advisory Board (VAB) is already meeting with the representatives of the three pharmaceutical companies to discuss the vaccines.

The city government is looking into various factors that would be their basis for procuring the vaccines including the storage requirements, number of doses available, price, and effectiveness.

“Gisugo mi ni mayor to talk to all vaccine manufacturers. Nagstart na mi sa Astrazeneca, also with Pfizer. We will also be talking to representatives of Moderna ug uban pa,” said Casas.

The vaccine board would be the one to make the recommendations to Mayor Edgardo Labella for the final brand of vaccine to procure.

Primarily, the board will base their decision on who gets the approval of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), of which only Pfizer has acquired an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) so far.

Yet the storage requirements will also matter as the vaccines can be spoiled if wrongly stored. Some vaccines require up to -70 degrees Celsius of storage temperature while others require only up to -20 degrees Celsius.

Casas said the city government will also train vaccinators for faster inoculation of the populace. Medical and para-medical students may be trained as vaccinators.

The storage facility will also be procured and the vaccinators will be trained once the vaccine brand will be decided.

Doctor Jeffrey Ybones, the city health officer, said that they are looking for a vaccine that the city can handle logistically when it comes to storage and volume.

“Unsa nga vaccine ang kaya nato, practical ba. Importante nga approved sa World Health Organization, pero kaya ba nato istore? Atong tan-awon unsay angayan, ato ihatag ang the best para sa atong lumulupyo,” said Ybones.

In Metro Cebu, only Pfizer has a storage facility for the vaccines care of Zuellig Pharma Holdings, which is in Mandaue City.

However, Ybones said the city government will still need to draft a memorandum of agreement to use this storage facility as well, which means Pfizer’s bid is not final.

The final decision for the vaccine will still be in the hands of Labella who will represent the city in the tripartite agreement with the pharmaceutical company and the national government. /rcg