Malacaῆang clarified on Tuesday that there is no monopoly in the national government’s purchase of COVID-19 vaccines, saying that local governments are not prohibited to acquire their own supply.
“Pero ang pamamaraan ay dito sa pagpasok nila sa multilateral agreement for the advance purchase. Ito ay para sa bakuna na AstraZeneca (But the means to do so is to enter into a multilateral agreement for the advance purchase. This is for the vaccine of AstraZeneca),” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque explained.
Roque pointed out that AstraZeneca is included in the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility (COVAX Facility) of the World Health Organization (WHO) where only states are considered members.
“For purposes of COVAX, talagang kinakailangang magkaroon ng multilateral agreement dahil ang kasapi sa agreement ay ang bansang Pilipinas (For purposes of COVAX, there is a need for a multilateral agreement because the party in the agreement is the Philippines),” he elucidated.
Malacaῆang said the government and the National Task Force are prepared to buy vaccines for everyone, but they are welcome the effort of local governments to help using their own funds. The national government will shoulder the purchase of vaccines for the LGUs that do not have the resources to acquire their own supply.
Safe if FDA-approved
Referring to his recent statement that individuals under the priority list cannot choose the brands to be administered to them, Roque assured that vaccines are safe and effective once they pass the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scrutiny.
“Simula Pebrero hanggang Hunyo, wala po tayong alternatibo dahil parang iisa lang po ang darating na bakuna. Pero pagdating po ng July, marami na ang papasok (We do not have an alternative from February to June because only one vaccine is set to arrive. Come July, more vaccines will come in),” he added.
Sec. Roque reiterated that the public will not be forced to be inoculated even if they are considered as priority beneficiaries. However, those who refuse will lose their priority privilege and will have to wait again. – Report from PTV News Online, Mela Lesmoras
