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Government negotiations to secure doses of the Covid-19 pandemic vaccine have been slightly delayed.
The National Working Group Against Covid-19 (NTF) made the admission in a statement on Sunday, adding that it is now considering extending its negotiations with manufacturers and other countries for the acquisition of the vaccine until next month.
“We hope to reach an agreement with the vaccine manufacturers later this year or early January 2021,” NTF said.
Based on the government’s vaccination roadmap, such bilateral and multilateral talks should have concluded before the end of December.
However, NTF said it was able to make up for the delays and is still confident that the government will be able to obtain its first shipment of the vaccine by March 2021 and begin its inoculation program for Covid-19.
On Sunday, Senator Panfilo Lacson urged the Duterte government to advance early procurement of Covid vaccines from the US, hoping that Santa Claus in Malacañang will act quickly to grant his “Christmas wish.”
“No more incompetence,” Lacson emphasized in an interview with DWIZ over the weekend. “There should be no room for incompetence and ineptitude, especially on the part of the Secretary of Health, Francisco Duque III, after the events that occurred earlier this week,” referring to last week’s intra-Cabinet exchange, where Duque he was seen as the one who “dropped the ball” in crucial negotiations with vaccine maker Pfizer, thus relegating the Philippines further down the line of pre-ordering countries.
Feeding program
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said they are anticipating that the vaccination campaign will allow the government to resume its intensified food program initiatives.
According to the latest survey by the Social Weather Station (SWS), 16.7 percent of Filipinos suffered involuntary hunger.
“It is expected that the administration’s food security programs will reduce hunger numbers to pre-pandemic levels, which hovered around 8.8 percent.” Nograles said in a statement.
‘Unnecessary noise’
Despite admitting the delays, NTF endorsed Health Secretary Duque’s position on the controversy surrounding the government’s acquisition of the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech.
Last week, Duque denied allegations that he was the one who “dropped the ball” when finalizing the deal to secure 10 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines.
NTF described the indictment as “unfounded and unnecessary noise that may derail” the government from ensuring safe and effective vaccines, despite the fact that a cabinet secretary, Foreign Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr., disclosed the alleged action. slow on vaccinations. who had previously enlisted the help of United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to help the Philippines secure a substantial volume of pre-orders as countries scrambled to make reservations. Locsin’s revelation was affirmed by the Philippine Ambassador to Washington, José Manuel “Babe” Romualdez.
The NTF reiterated that “no ‘bus’ was missed or no ‘ball’ was dropped” in the government’s negotiations with Pfizer.
Commercial prices
The NTF also clarified reports on the prices of Covid-19 vaccines, which it said was not the same as what the government is negotiating.
“The negotiated price of a vaccine dose has a cost for the most part, since most companies believed that during this pandemic our moral obligation and global interests is to save lives and humanity,” NTF said.
It issued the statement after receiving criticism for prioritizing the Sinovac vaccine, which is one of the most expensive Covid-19 vaccines with P3,629.50.
It is said to be more expensive compared to other vaccines from manufacturers such as AstraZeneca (P610); Novavax (P366); Pfizer (P2,379); Gamaleya (P1,220) and Covax Facility (P854).
‘Christmas wish’
Senator Lacson told DWIZ in an interview over the weekend, “My Christmas wish is simple. I hope that Filipinos survive this pandemic and get the necessary vaccines as soon as possible. “
Lacson suggested that the Duterte Cabinet, including Chief Anti-Covid Vaccine Implementer Carlito Galvez Jr., should help
Secretary Duque “not defending him in the media but getting his job
done.”
At the same time, Lacson acknowledged that “if anything good came out of Foreign Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr.’s tweet about someone who dropped the ball during initial efforts to get vaccinated, it was that stakeholder attention had been called “.
The legislator, the first to react to Locsin’s tweet, previously revealed that it was Duque who “dropped the ball” in initial talks for vaccines by failing to act quickly by signing a Confidentiality Disclosure Agreement that would seal the deal. Lacson recalled that Locsin and his American counterpart, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, spoke Friday night for the Philippines to acquire Covid vaccines, even if it was only a fraction of the 10 million doses initially discussed.
Several months ago, Locsin had gotten Pompeo to commit to helping the Philippines source vaccines from US-based pharmaceutical companies that were pioneers in the vaccine race. “This time, I hope Secretary Duque is alert, and I hope that Cabinet members will help him move faster rather than defend him through statements to the media. Tulungan na lang. Huwag tulungan magpaliwanag sa media. Tulungan na lang magtrabaho [Just help each other. Not help to explain to media, but help each other do the job]”Said the senator. He noted that Duque had asked Gálvez and other members of the cabinet to defend him in the media, adding that Duque was “practically frantic” in doing so.
The senator added: “Regarding Duque’s assertion that he was mistaken as a precaution by late signing the CDA. . . Caution, my foot. 118 days to sign a simple CDA, between June and October?
