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The national government signed on Friday a tripartite agreement with the private sector, represented by the Go Negosyo Foundation, and the British pharmaceutical AstraZeneca for the supply of 2.6 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in the country next year.
Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., chief executor of the National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19 and the country’s vaccine czar, sealed the partnership with Concepción and Lotis Ramin, president of AstraZeneca Philippines.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is being developed in partnership with the University of Oxford and is reported to be 70 percent effective against COVID-19.
The vaccines will be donated to the Department of Health (DOH), which will handle the deployment. Half of the donations will be reserved for government leaders, while the other 50 percent will cover private sector employees, both regular and contractual, as long as they follow the government’s priority sectors for distribution, Concepción said.
“With all these announcements, our Filipino people can be sure that we will not be left behind. With the efforts of Sec. Gálvez in bringing the vaccine to this country, we will soon see this pandemic disappear, ”Concepción said, adding that he expects the vaccines to arrive by May or June 2021.
“We are working closely with regulatory authorities around the world and we really hope we can bring a solution here to end the COVID-19 pandemic,” Ramin said.
AstraZeneca has a zero profit program in 2021, which means vaccines are priced as low as possible. The cure is expected to cost around P500 ($ 10) for two doses.
Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, president and CEO of Ayala Corporation, who is among those involved in the historic agreement, said that his commitment “extends beyond our employees and their dependents, to the community in general, giving priority to those who need it. “
“Our task extends[s] beyond the acquisition of vaccines to help optimize the supply chain, distribution and logistics from one end to the other, “he said.
Tessie Sy-Coson, vice president of SM Investments Corporation, said the acquisition of the vaccine “is the first step toward recovery.”
“Together, we must work to control the spread of COVID-19 while ensuring that we can function effectively. [and] efficiently as an economy. With this vaccine, it would no longer be an exchange between lives and livelihoods, ”he said.
On the other hand, Ramon Ang, president and director of operations of San Miguel Corporation, said that the assurance that there will be a vaccine for the Filipino people “is an early Christmas gift” for those who have already been dealing with the pandemic for eight months.
Lance Gokongwei, Chairman of the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation, and Enrique Razon, Chairman of the Board and Chairman of International Container Terminal Services, Inc., also expressed confidence that the pandemic will soon be overcome with the availability of vaccines and the cooperation of all. .
Apart from them, below is the complete list of signatories from the private sector:
Mario Deriquito from the BDO Foundation, Richard Sanz from the Philippine Franchise Association, Michael Tan from the Philippine National Bank, Manny Pangilinan from Metro Pacific Investments Corporation, Jhayner Bufi from LBC Express Holdings, Dennis Uy from Udenna Corporation, Carmelo Bautista from GT Capital Holdings, William Belo from Wilcon Depot, Paolo Borromeo from AC Health, Maribeth Marasigan from Aboitiz Foundation, Ted Belza Jr. from Penshoppe, Gerardo Borromeo from Philippine Transmarine Carriers, Marlon Rono from Magsaysay People Resources Corp., Glenn Yu from SEAOIL Philippines, Ricardo Cuerva from Nova Group, Andrew Gotianun from Filinvest Corporation, Felcaster Torres from Yazaki-Torres Manufacturing, Corazon Lim from Mercury Drug Corporation, Jose Antonio from Century Properties Group, Inc., Henry Lim Bon Liong from the Federation of Philippine Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Attorney . Kenneth Cheng of Bounty Fresh, Ronald Mascarinas of Bounty Agro Ventures, Inc., Raúl Concepción of Concepcion Industrial Corporation, Jose Ma. A. Minana, Jr. of Jollibee Group of Companies, Mukesh Advani of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce of the Philippines , Inc., Edgar Sia of Doubledragon Properties / MerryMart, Jerome Ong of CDO Foodsphere, Erwin Go of GUR LAVI Group, Martin Yu of Shopee Philippines and representatives of First Philippine Holdings Corporation and Suyen Corporation.
More evidence is needed
On Thursday, the AstraZeneca director said more research is needed on its COVID-19 vaccine after questions were raised about the protection it offers, but additional testing is unlikely to affect regulatory approval in Europe.
AstraZeneca and its partner, the University of Oxford, announced Monday that they were seeking regulatory approval for the vaccine after it showed an average effectiveness of 70 percent.
That rate jumped to 90 percent when a starting half dose and then a full dose were administered, similar to rival vaccines in development by Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna.
But American scientists have said that the highest effectiveness rate occurred during testing in people 55 and younger, and was discovered by accident during clinical trials.
The head of the Oxford Vaccine Group, Andrew Pollard, said this week that more evidence will be available next month, but the result remains “very significant.”
Private sector donation
The agreement, which Gálvez touted as one of the first to be carried out worldwide, noted that the vaccines will be paid for in full by the private sector.
He said that half of the supply will be donated to the national government for the inoculation of poor and front-line Filipinos, among others, while the other half will be distributed to the private sector.
“This pandemic has advantages. It has brought us closer as a people, bringing out the best in everyone. We were all called to help and find solutions to this unprecedented public health crisis. This is because we know that our lives and the lives of our loved ones are at stake, ”said Gálvez.
“Through this partnership, we are thinking and acting ahead of the virus. Through the demonstration of unity and self-denial, which we refer to as the Bayanihan spirit, we are showing the world that even though the pandemic brought us down, we will rise up and unite as one, ”he emphasized.
20 million more doses
Apart from the delivery of 2.6 million doses of vaccine, Gálvez revealed that there are also ongoing negotiations with AstraZeneca for the supply of another 20 million doses of its vaccine that will be paid for by the national government.
“With all these announcements, the Filipino people can be sure that we will not be left behind. We will soon see this pandemic disappear, ”Concepción said.
With the tripartite agreement reached, Gálvez expressed confidence that the government is one step closer to its goal of inoculating some 60 million Filipinos in the next three to five years to eradicate the COVID-19 pandemic.
The signing session was moderated by Josephine Romero, leader of the ARK Project. (With AFP report)
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