President Rodrigo Duterte has allowed the country’s entry into advance market commitments with private COVID-19 vaccine developers which includes early payment to pharmaceutical companies.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Thursday explained that the previous stand of the president has already changed to ensure the access of vaccine supplies for the Philippines.
“Noong nakita po niya ‘yung listahan ng mga bansang nag-a-advance payment eh hindi na po tayo magpapahuli. Basta mayroon tayong pondo. Kung kinakailangan ibenta ang mga ari-arian ng gobyerno gagawin niya ‘yan (When he saw the list of countries doing advance payments, he did not want us to be left behind. We have the funds. If there is the need to sell properties, he will do it),” Roque stated.
Roque announced that the emergency use authority (EUA) for COVID-19 vaccines requested by the health department has been “approved in principle.”
“Maganda po ang magiging epekto niyan. Mapapabilis po tayo… Ginagamit po ng ibang bansa po iyan katulad po ng Tsina at saka po ng US at saka po ng Australia (That will have a good effect. It will expedite [the whole process] …That is being used by other countries like China, the US and Australia),” Vaccine Czar Carlito Galvez explained.
The country seeks to purchase 30 million to 50 million doses and is now working on various financing methods, including direct procurement, bilateral and multilateral loans, and private sector financing.
As for the vaccine supply in the Philippines, Galvez said the earliest in the case of Russia is in first quarter of 2021.
“Pero ang inaano po namin talaga sa mga kinakausap po namin ay ang pinaka earliest first case scenario is May, June, sa COVAX, in July (But based on our communication with developers, the earliest is May, June, and July for COVAX),” he stated. – Report from Mela Lesmoras
