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A senior official from the Department of Health (DoH) insists that his data confidentiality agreement (CDA) with the American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer was for data sharing and does not imply supplying the Philippines with its vaccine against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19 ).
The Undersecretary of Health, María Rosario Vergeire, made the clarification on Friday after Senator Panfilo Lacson identified Secretary of Health Francisco Duque 3 as the cabinet member who “dropped the ball” in the deal with Pfizer.
It all started when Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. tweeted that he and the Philippine Ambassador to the United States, José Manuel Romualdez, had been secured by United States Secretary of State Michael Pompeo of a supply agreement. 10 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine, until it went down. by a senior government official.
Vergeire said the CDA that was signed by the Health Department and the drugmaker in October was for data sharing and did not specify operational or technical details.
“There was no discussion about the supply and the number of doses (there was no discussion about the shipping, the supply and the number of doses),” he said.
Duque said in a television interview Thursday that he did not recall whether there was a commitment to deliver 10 million doses during his meetings with Pfizer.
Vergeire said the deal went through regular review, especially by the legal teams from DoH, the Department of Science and Technology and the Office of the President through the executive secretary.
Duque has also been criticized by ACT Teachers Party roster representative Francia Castro, who belongs to the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives, for the government’s apparent preference for the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine, CoronaVac.
“We challenged the Duterte administration to fully disclose how the Sinovac vaccine was chosen over other Covid-19 vaccines available from other pharmaceutical companies,” Castro said.
“People should know how the Duterte administration came to the conclusion that the Sinovac vaccine would be the best for the Filipino people despite being more expensive and the trials have not yet completed,” he said.
Castro cited studies that other vaccines had a higher efficacy rate, with Pfizer and Moderna claiming to have a 95 percent efficacy rate, while the Sinovac vaccine has not yet completed trials. Pfizer is also cheaper at P2,300 than Sinovac and Moderna, which cost P3,600 and P4,000, respectively.
“It is very alarming to hear reports that there are people in charge who missed the opportunity to get vaccines from companies for the Filipino people and that we are relying on a vaccine that is more expensive and that trials and approvals have not yet completed. At a time when we need the government to use all its resources, the Duterte administration continues to fail to ensure and protect the health of the Filipino people, ”he said.
Castro was also alarmed that President Duterte saw “no mistake” on Duque’s part “when he failed to secure Pfizer vaccines, demonstrating a lack of determination to secure enough vaccines for the people and his obvious bias towards a vaccine. from China”.
In a positive development, the Philippines is one of eight Southeast Asian nations that will receive at least 20 million euros from the European Union to strengthen its response to Covid-19.
The other recipients of funds are Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
In a statement, the World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific regional director, Takeshi Kasai, said EU funding will help countries reaffirm their health systems in the next pandemic or health emergency.
“These countries have spent more than a decade preparing for events with pandemic potential, strengthening their health systems in anticipation of an event such as the Covid-19 pandemic,” Kasai noted.
The money will be used to mobilize all sectors and communities to ensure participation in prevention, preparedness and response activities, control sporadic cases, clusters and community transmission, suppression of community transmission and reduce deaths from Covid-19.
The WHO Western Pacific Region, of which the Philippines is a part, and the WHO South-East Asia Region will work closely with recipient country governments to ensure that interventions are aligned with national priorities and outlined in their national response. plans.
WHO will also use the fund to engage the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in order to improve coordination among ASEAN member states and promote a regional approach to respond to Covid-19.
“This partnership will go a long way towards ensuring that the Southeast Asian region rebuilds better during and after the Covid-19 pandemic and becomes stronger and more resilient in the years to come,” said Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director of WHO for South-East Asia Region, he said.
WITH REPORTS FROM DIVINA NOVA JOY DELA CRUZ
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