BACOLOD City – The city government is not keen on paying the P98-million remaining balance for the AstraZeneca coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) vaccines it purchased.
The city government under the previous administration purchased 650,000 vaccines with a budget of P300 million.
According to Mayor Alfredo Benitez, a representative of AstraZeneca told him about the remaining balance and the city’s chief executive replied, “I will try to the best of my ability not to pay.”
“I would rather use that money for something else nga mausar sang aton pumuluyo,” the mayor said.
Benitez said the previous city government purchased from AstraZeneca 650,000 vaccines and based on record, 216,000 were utilized.
Benitez said 434,000 AstraZeneca vaccines are left stored at the Department of Health. The city government did not accept the delivery last year because it already exceeded its vaccination target, said Benitez.
The problem is, Benitez added, the vaccine’s life span is only six month, and with that about 300,000 AstraZeneca vaccines of the city have expired at the DOH./PN
