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After obtaining suppliers for only 2.3% of the total syringes and needles that are planned to be purchased for vaccination, the Ministry of Health decided to carry out an administrative requisition for the stocks of the national manufacturers of these products.
In practice, this indicates that these companies will only be able to sell surplus material to the government for a specified period. The objective is to guarantee material to start the vaccination plan against Covid-19.
The information was confirmed by representatives of the ministry on Monday night (4).
According to the folder, the measure affects manufacturers represented by Abimo (Brazilian Association of the Industry of Medical and Dental Articles and Equipment) and is given “until the normal bidding process is concluded, which will be carried out as soon as possible.”
Before syringes, the Ministry of Health already adopted a similar model of administrative requisition with the manufacturers of respirators and for the purchase of drugs used in the intubation of patients with Covid-19, for example.
In a note, the folder says that the new request “aims to meet the most urgent needs to launch the National Plan for the Operationalization of Vaccination against Covid-19.”
He also says that he awaits confirmation of the quantities available in the companies’ stock and that he must start a new trading session “as soon as possible”.
According to Abimo, part of the manufacturers signed a protocol of intent with the Ministry of Health on Monday (4) to deliver 30 million syringes by the end of January. New meetings are planned to fix possible delivery times.
Since the last week, the government has been looking for alternatives to obtain syringes and needles for Covid vaccination, after a tender carried out by the Ministry of Health on December 29 obtains a supplier for only 7.9 million syringes and needles, the equivalent of 2.3% of the expected. The portfolio expected to obtain 331 million units of these products.
At that time, the price charged by the companies was above the value estimated by government technicians, which frustrated the negotiation. Before that, state health secretaries had already expressed concern about the risk of difficulties in obtaining the material, necessary to start vaccination in the country.
By leaving the purchase of inputs to the last minute, the portfolio faced a shortage of products, a global dispute over inputs and impractical prices due to high demand.
After the failure of the first commercial session, the ministry’s technicians have been talking with the companies that appeared for the dispute. Both parties are trying to adapt the proposals and the pasta is more likely to agree to pay more for syringes and needles.
In the midst of the difficulty in obtaining the material, the government also decided, in the last week, to restrict the export of these products.
In a decree issued by Secex (Secretariat of Foreign Trade), published last Thursday (31), the items were included in the list created in July 2020 of products that need a special license for export, since they are directly linked to face the Covid pandemic. -19.
