The Pfizer controversy is now irrelevant; Modern COVID-19 vaccine ‘most advantageous’ for PH: sent

MANILA – Controversy over the government’s alleged failure to ensure early access to Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is now irrelevant, the Philippine envoy to the United States said on Monday, as the country is also in talks with other pharmaceutical companies. for possible vaccine deals. .

Interviewed at ANC, Amb. José Manuel Romualdez said it was time to “move on” with the supposed failed agreement that would have allowed the country to acquire 10 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from the US pharmaceutical company in January next year, if Health Secretary Francisco Duque III Worked promptly on the necessary documentary requirements.

“I think it’s time for us to move on. A lot of other vaccine companies are already coming into play,” Romualdez told “Matters of Fact.”

“All these controversies around Pfizer [deal] it is already really irrelevant at this point because we are now moving in the direction of getting more of these vaccines that we require for our fellow citizens. “

For Romualdez, a possible deal with the US biotech firm Moderna, with which the Philippines was already in advanced talks, would be more “advantageous” for the country because its vaccine candidate does not require specialized cold storage facilities.

“Modern … it would probably be even more, I would say, advantageous for us because it does not require the minimum of freezing of vaccines,” he said.

Moderna’s vaccine is based on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, which is based on synthetic genes that can be generated and manufactured in weeks, and produced at scale more quickly than conventional vaccines.

Pfizer’s vaccine also uses mRNA technology, but requires cold storage requirements.

Romualdez also defended the embattled chief of health amid allegations that the latter cost the Philippines quick access to the Pfizer vaccine.

“I don’t want to describe it as if he really dropped the ball. It’s more the fact that I think his urgency was not very clear,” he said.

Romualdez believed that Duque was only being “cautious” after the 2017 controversy over the national dengue vaccination program, Dengvaxia.

“I think he just wanted to be sure that he was cautious, that he was not signing something that would not be good for the government,” said the envoy.

“We will have to assume that he had all good intentions as to why he needed his legal team to review it before he puts his signature on the dotted line.”

Last week, Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said someone made a mistake in the race to get the first batch of Pfizer vaccines.

Senator Panfilo Lacson alleged that it was Duque who “did not work on the necessary documentary requirements” necessary for the confidential disclosure agreement (CDA) with Pfizer.

Duque denied causing the delay.

Malacañang had said that the Philippines also intended to use 4 candidate vaccines from Russia and China. These are from the Gamaleya Institute of Russia and from Sinovac, Sinopharm and CanSino of China.

By the second quarter of next year, the country expects to source its vaccine supply from British drug maker AstraZeneca, of which 2.6 million doses were secured by the private sector.

COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer, Covax, Johnson & Johnson, Novavax, and Moderna are expected to arrive in the Philippines during the third quarter.

The Philippines has a total of 459,789 confirmed COVID-19 cases, as of December 20, including 21,708 active infections, 8,947 deaths, and 429,134 recoveries.

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