Vaccine delay is beyond our control, senator says
It’s really hard to wait but we have no choice. The problem is not within us, it is in the pharmaceutical firms
The delay in the arrival of Covid-19 vaccines in the country is beyond our control as the problem starts from the actual vaccine manufacturers, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said on Saturday.
“It’s really hard to wait but we have no choice. The problem is not within us, it is in the pharmaceutical firms,” he pointed out.
The lawmaker made the remark a day after presidential spokesperson Harry Roque disclosed that the President is already getting impatient with the delays in the national inoculation program.
“The countries which made reservations during the Phase 2 clinical trials haven’t even received their vaccines yet. The (local government of) Quezon City would receive their vaccines in June, despite being the first to make a reservation from AstraZeneca,” he stressed.
Despite most Filipinos’ disinclination to Chinese Sinovac vaccine, Sotto said it is the vaccine that would certainly be delivered first, most probably within the coming week.
He also pointed out another factor that contributes to the delay in the delivery of vaccines.
“The bigger problem is that some pharmaceutical firms are making sure that the indemnification would be shouldered by the government to anyone who would experience severe adverse effects of the vaccine,” he said.
The President last week signed the certification of urgency for Senate Bill 2057 and House Bill 8648, seeking to create a vaccine indemnity fund and exempt local government units from the procurement law.
The measures both seek to expedite the vaccination process in the country.
The senator also reiterated to the public that even if one was already vaccinated, there is still a chance for another to be infected with Covid-19.
Getting inoculated does not guarantee total resistance from the disease. One can still experience a mild case of Covid-19, he added.
Meanwhile, Senator Sonny Angara said that he understands the position of more than 70 local chief executives who have to make an advance payment to drug manufacturers before the deadline set on 24 February in order to secure thousands of vaccine doses.
He assured them that Congress would immediately work on the passage of the bill allowing them to pay in advance, but stressed that they should still abide with the list of vaccine priority groups identified by the national task force against Covid-19.