Duterte wants jabs rush, but…
Amid a possible delay of the arrival of 600,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses from Chinese firm Sinovac Biotech Ltd., President Rodrigo Duterte has approved two measures
to hasten the delivery of more serums in the Philippines.
Presidential spokesperson Secretary Harry Roque and vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. on Thursday floated the possibility that the vaccine shots from Sinovac might not arrive on 23 February as earlier announced since state regulators have yet to approve it for local use.
They underscored in a news conference that the Chinese firm should wait for an emergency use authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Covid-19 vaccine before delivering the shots.
“If the EUA is not issued yet, the delivery of the 600,000 doses might be delayed,” Roque said in vernacular.
Galvez echoed this, adding that the EUA requirement applies to all Covid-19 vaccines eyed by the country for procurement.
So far, only vaccines developed by British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca, as well as those made by American pharma giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, have been approved for emergency use in the country.
“No vaccine will arrive (in the Philippines) without EUA. An emergency use authorization should come first before its shipment,” Galvez said in the same press briefing.
An EUA is needed before vaccines could be imported, purchased, and administered by the national government to the public. It is not a license for commercial use, however.
So far, only vaccines developed by British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca, as well as those made by American pharma giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, have been approved for emergency use in the country.
The FDA earlier said it is waiting for Sinovac to complete its requirements before vaccine experts could decide on their EUA application.
“We also want to get the EUA for Sinovac, so we can immediately use their vaccine,” Roque said.
Indemnity urgent
Roque also announced yesterday that President Duterte has certified as urgent the proposed measures seeking to ensure the availability of funds to compensate Filipinos in the case they die or suffer from severe side effects after receiving Covid-19 vaccines.
The certification covers Senate Bill 2057 and House Bill 8648, both of which proposed the establishment of an indemnity fund. A bill certified by the President as urgent can be approved by Congress on second and third reading on the same day.
An indemnification law is expected to hasten the delivery of Covid-19 vaccines in the country, since it is among the requirements of vaccine manufacturers to exempt them from liability should their products cause serious adverse effects to vaccine takers.
The lack of an indemnification mechanism in the Philippines impeded the quick delivery of vaccines, particularly of 117,000 of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines which were supposed to be shipped to the country as early as 15 February through COVAX Facility.
COVAX is a mechanism led by the World Health Organization (WHO), along with the vaccine alliance Gavi and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, which seeks to provide over 150 participating countries equitable access to coronavirus jabs.
The Philippines has submitted the required indemnification deal to Pfizer-BioNTech, and is now waiting for documents of the manufacturer, said Galvez.
The WHO is also waiting for the indemnification agreement from the Western firms before finalizing the COVAX supply delivery of Covid-19 vaccines to the country, said Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe, the organization’s representative to the Philippines.
“The COVAX Facility and Gavi alliance have been working closely with Pfizer-BioNTech to spell out their indemnification agreement similar to what the Philippines had signed,” Abeyasinghe said in a news conference.
Galvez, meanwhile, said the government has assured vaccine makers that the state would be held liable should their Covid-19 jabs cause serious side effects to recipients, shielding them from potential lawsuits.
The FDA earlier said it is waiting for Sinovac to complete its requirements before vaccine experts could decide on their EUA application.
Advance fees allowed
Duterte, through a memorandum, also allowed the national government and local chief executives to pay more than 15 percent of the total contract amount for Covid-19 vaccines, exceeding the limitation set by the country’s procurement laws.
It would enable local government units to meet the requirement of pharmaceutical firms which asked for as much as 50 percent advance payment for vaccines.
Local executives have previously expressed concern that they cannot immediately buy Covid-19 vaccines since Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act bars them from disbursing more than 15-percent of the contract amount pending delivery of goods.
The 24 member-cities of the League of Cities of the Philippines have earlier sought Duterte’s “urgent action” to issue an order allowing them to make such payments ahead of a 24 February deadline set by British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca.
“In the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines, government agencies, and local units concerned shall ensure that any arrangements to be entered into shall be in the best interests of the government and the public,” the president said in the order.
The grant of authority to the local executives, health department, and pandemic task force would take effect immediately and would remain in force until the lifting of the State of Emergency due to Covid-19, Duterte added.
Local executives have opted to purchase their own Covid-19 vaccines for their constituents, since the national government has selected priority sectors who would receive the first vaccine shots.
Bills have been filed both by Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri and Speaker Lord Allan Velasco seeking to exempt local government units from the procurement law provision so they can make advance payments for Covid-19 vaccine purchase.
It remains unclear whether these measures would still be pursued following the new memorandum.
Duterte’s allies in the legislative branch, Senator Christopher “Bong” Go and Velasco, welcomed the president’s approval of the two measures, noting that these new orders would expedite the purchase and administration of vaccines in the country.
“The executive and legislative branches would continue to work together to enable the Philippines to overcome this health crisis,” Go said.
“This is an important step in our fight to defeat the spread of Covid-19 as this allows the speedy procurement of the most effective vaccines by local governments cognizant that any delay would have serious consequences on how we move forward from this pandemic,” Velasco said in a separate statement.
The government has earmarked P82 billion for Covid-19 vaccine procurement, sourced from the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
It is aiming to secure a total of 148 million vaccine doses to inoculate at least 70 million Filipinos this year.
The neighboring countries of the Philippines in Southeast Asia, such as Singapore, Indonesia, and Myanmar, have started to immunize their people against the coronavirus.