Palace: PH buys the vaccine from China as there is still no commitment from others

Malacañang on Tuesday denied that he was favoring the more expensive CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine, made in China, over other candidate vaccines, saying the government would purchase the vaccines that are available as long as they are safe and effective.

CoronaVac is manufactured by the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque noted that there was a global fight over COVID-19 vaccines being developed by various pharmaceutical companies.

“From now on, the market is really driven by demand and we will get what we can buy. We don’t have favorites, ”Roque said at a press conference.

China commitment

China has pledged to provide the Philippines with its COVID-19 vaccine, Roque said.

The Philippines has yet to get a similar commitment for supplies of Pfizer, AstraZeneca or Moderna vaccines, he said.

“The reason we buy [CoronaVac] it’s that we can’t get Pfizer, AstraZeneca or Moderna right away, ”he said.

There are plans to acquire the Pfizer vaccine, he said, but this could come in the second and third quarters of 2021, he said. “It is not acceptable for the president to wait that long.”

But it would be nice if the Philippines could have access to other COVID-19 vaccines, he added.

‘Someone dropped the ball’

Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said the Philippines was supposed to receive 10 million doses of the vaccine from Pfizer, but “someone dropped the ball.”

In a series of tweets, Locsin said that he and the Philippine Ambassador to the United States, José Manuel “Babe” Romualdez, had organized the delivery of the vaccine with the help of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Locsin said that the purchase of the Pfizer vaccine would be financed by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

“With that said, my thanks anyway to… Pompeo. We Babe Romualdez and I got 10 million doses from Pfizer funded by the World Bank and ADB to be shipped via FedEx to Clark (airport) in January, ”Locsin tweeted.

“BUT SOMEONE DROPPED THE BALL. I have steel ball bearings. I just need a slingshot, ”he added.

When asked by a Twitter user for more details, Locsin just said that Secretary Carlito Gálvez Jr., head of the National Task Force against COVID-19 who had been appointed by President Duterte to lead the vaccine program, would be the I would “order”.

“No. We didn’t miss the bus because we were slow to act. Babe and I were quick. Offers came in. But there is no one as slow as those who never intended to take the bus,” he said.

Locsin also defended Malacañang’s decision to inoculate Filipinos with CoronaVac despite critics’ observation that the Chinese vaccine was more expensive than the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines.

Without identifying him, Locsin pointed out that Dr. Anthony Leachon, a former adviser on the government response to the coronavirus who was criticized by Roque for raising doubts about the effectiveness of CoronaVac, had worked for Pfizer.

“It is a normal native reaction to anything unfamiliar. This is not the time to pick and choose. All vaccines are good and all have the limitations of short trials, ”Locsin said.

He claimed that people who had been vaccinated with the Pfizer injection had suffered “Bell’s palsy or frozen face,” but it eventually “disappeared.”

“As I said in speeches to international audiences, no one challenged me, no serious power will invite stigma for the next two centuries by implementing a vaccine that it is not using in its own citizens,” Locsin said.

“All the powers are doing that; China and Russia in their armed forces. It is not a good place to play dice. Furthermore, no one will be forced to take a vaccine they do not want, “he added.

Furthermore, Locsin said, not a single vaccine developed by private pharmaceutical companies has received a “government guarantee,” which he says would not come until the government-purchased vaccines are formally released for use next year.

‘More cooperative’

“The government will announce [vaccination] on a certain date, ”he said, adding that vaccination against the new coronavirus would be a requirement for people who want to travel abroad.

According to Undersecretary Lloyd Lao of the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management, China is one of the “most cooperative” countries with the Philippines when it comes to the vaccine negotiations.

“They are making commitments and they are responding to us positively. That is why Sinovac is one of the most active vaccine suppliers that is negotiating with our country, because it has the imprimatur of China itself, “said Lao.

The most important thing for the government now is that the vaccine is safe, effective and has the approval of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said Roque.

Pricing is only secondary at this point in deciding which vaccine to buy, he said. “I think that the price is limited because we are in an emergency situation and vaccines are limited,” he said.

Roque was asked if Malacañang preferred the Sinovac vaccine over other candidate vaccines that were less expensive, and what he thought of claims that the Chinese injection was not supported by adequate safety and efficacy data.

The Philippines plans to purchase 25 million doses of CoronaVac by the first quarter of 2021. CoronaVac costs $ 60 (P3,000) for the two-dose regimen.

The Pfizer vaccine, which the government is also negotiating to obtain, costs $ 39 (P1,950) for two doses. The AstraZeneca vaccine, which will be purchased by the private sector, costs $ 10 (P500) for two doses.

Secondary cost

Lao said the government would receive the vaccine that would be “the safest, most effective and available.”

“The cost is secondary. The important thing is that we get the vaccines available for the Philippines, ”he said.

FDA Director General Eric Domingo said the agency would study Sinovac’s vaccine objectively and would not tolerate any attempts to bribe it to gain approval.

Domingo had been asked at a news conference about reports that Sinovac had bribed Chinese drug regulators in the past to obtain approval for its vaccines.

“Our study would be very objective. It would depend on the data and the evidence they present. They shouldn’t try to bribe in the Philippines because they would run into trouble. Furthermore, they would not get approval, ”said Domingo. INQ

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