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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 13) – The government has yet to forge an agreement with no cold storage facility for COVID-19 vaccines due to the limitations of the procurement law, a health official said on Friday.
The Undersecretary of Health, María Rosario Vergeire, said that the law allows payment to providers once the service has been rendered or if the items, in this case the vaccines, are ready.
“I think that since this is a big transaction, third-party logistics companies have a problem with that because they can’t get paid up front,” Vergeire said.
The Health Department is also conducting bids for cold storage facilities, but they end up being disqualified.
“The problem is that almost everyone was disqualified during the initial execution of our acquisition because we have a requirement based on the terms of reference that was not met by the third-party logistics that apply,” said Vergeire.
Vergeire said government facilities can store the vaccines, but more are needed.
“We just have to make sure we get one once the bulk vaccine orders come in, because we really need a logistics company,” he said.
The government also faced difficulties in sealing vaccine deals due to a lack of procedures to protect manufacturers from potential liability due to the side effects of their vaccines. This prompted the government to quickly draft an indemnity law.
The government hopes to vaccinate 50 to 70 million Filipinos for herd immunity before the end of the year. So far, the country has received more than 600,000 doses of vaccines manufactured by Sinovac from a donation from China and 525,600 doses of vaccines manufactured by AstraZeneca from the COVAX facility run by the World Health Organization.
Vaccine Czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said the country expects to receive 5.2 million to 9.5 million doses of Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines from COVAX facilities. COVID-19 vaccines made by US manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna require ultra-low temperature cold storage.
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