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One of the key and priority projects that Congress is processing at this time is the so-called ‘Vaccine Law’, which establishes mechanisms to facilitate access to the covid-19 vaccine.
The project, which received an urgent message from President Iván Duque, has already been approved in its first two debates and only two more remain to become law. However, despite its relevance, a paragraph introduced in the presentation for the third debate on Monday sparked a controversy in the country.
The paragraph that caused concern in the Legislature and among experts in health and epidemiology issues indicates that strata 5 and 6 will have to pay for the vaccine.
(See also: They propose that the vaccine against covid is not free for strata 5 and 6)
“Strata 5 and 6 will be exempt from being free, except for those who belong to health personnel, adults over 60 years of age and people with comorbidities,” says the paragraph of article 9 of the project.
This modification was rejected by the Ministry of Health, which argues that “historically universal vaccination has been contemplated for the entire population of Colombia, in some cases prioritizing sectors but never stratifying. The foregoing, insofar as a provision that stratifies the cost, could contemplate defects of constitutionality inasmuch as it would potentially violate the principle of equality in access to health ”.
Additionally, the Health portfolio argues that “the objective of immunization requires vaccinating as many Colombians as possible.”
In agreement with the Ministry of Health, Zulma Cucunubá, researcher at the Center for Analysis of Global Infections of the Faculty of Medicine of Imperial College (United Kingdom), who stated that the proposal is “very impractical and is unaware that vaccination has a group effect, not just an individual one. Vaccination must be free and must obey a careful balance between need and availability ”.
Vaccination must be free and must obey a careful balance between need and availability
The issue of excluding strata 5 and 6 from the free vaccination was put on the table by senators Efraín Cepeda, María del Rosario Guerra, Gustavo Bolívar and Rodrigo Villalba
“It may be appropriate to exclude from there (the gratuity) to strata 5 and 6, as it is necessary to alleviate finances,” Cepeda said during the debate.
The proposal caused concern in the Congress of the Republic. The representative of Cambio Radical José Daniel López assured that, although he understands the intention of his colleagues, this proposal is inconvenient. And he announced that he will present a proposal to modify this article, in which he will propose that gratuity be for everyone and that in the case of the upper strata, the payment is voluntary.
“The Government may advance programs to encourage the voluntary payment of the vaccine by the population belonging to strata 5 and 6, except those belonging to health personnel, adults over 60 years of age and people with comorbidities,” says the proposal, known by this newspaper.
(You may also be interested in: They put accelerator to project that allows free access to covid vaccine)
Likewise, the representative Ricardo Ferro, author of the project, reaffirmed this Monday his purpose that the idea “is to guarantee free access to the vaccine against covid-19 to all Colombians and ensure the resources for the acquisition of it.
Beyond the discussion about gratuity, this bill resolves many of the concerns of Colombians regarding access to the vaccine, since it will enable the National Government to establish strategic alliances and allocate health resources in experimental vaccines against Covid- 19, or any other pandemic that may arise in the future.
The initiative allows the private sector to deduct taxes if they contribute resources to the National Risk Management Fund, which is the exchange created by the State for emergency mitigation, as is the case of the acquisition of vaccines and other activities focused on achieving immunization in the national territory against this pandemic.
The idea is that companies that file income tax are exempted from paying 50 percent of this tax if they contribute resources that allow the purchase of vaccines.
POLITICS
