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President Rodrigo R. Duterte said he wants a government-to-government deal to buy Covid-19 vaccines from China.
Duterte, this will ensure that the government purchase goes through and is free from potential anomalies.
“Let me tell everyone that we will not beg [for the vaccine]. We will pay. So you better go through an ang transaction from government to government. There will be no corruption, ”Duterte said during his public address Tuesday night.
He said he is considering making the purchase from China as it is said to be among the leading countries in terms of developing a possible vaccine for Covid-19.
It was reported that China was already using one of the Covid-19 vaccines that it is developing en masse in its citizens.
“As I said earlier in the days after the COVID contamination, I hope China will appear first. [with the vaccine for it] because I believe in Chinese experience and knowledge. And I was not wrong. They already have it, ”Duterte said.
However, the Director General of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Eric Domingo, emphasized that even China makes its Covid-19 vaccine available on the market, it will still have to be registered with the FDA. because it could be used locally.
Health officials said this might not be completed until April next year.
Cold storage
However, the government is now making preparations to purchase Covid-19 vaccines, including allocating the necessary funds and installing cold chain storage facilities for it.
The Department of Finance (DOF) has allocated a P20 billion fund to purchase an initial batch of Covid-19 vaccines.
Domingo, however, noted that the government currently lacks the cold chain storage facility necessary for the mass purchase of Covid-19 vaccines.
“Usually we only vaccinate 10-20 million people, so that’s what we can contain [in our current storage facility]”Domingo said.
Duterte said he wants nearly all of the country’s 108 million residents to be vaccinated against Covid-19 for free.
Aside from the storage facility, Domingo also said the government currently lacks delivery trucks with cold storage capacity to transfer vaccines.
“But I think now they are planning [some cold storage trucks] to prepare for the arrival of the vaccine, “said Domingo.
He stressed the importance of having the necessary storage facility and vaccine trucks will lose effectiveness if they are not kept at low temperatures.
