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Ukraine could get at least $ 1 lower price and two contracts for the supply of two different vaccines if Medical Procurement of Ukraine negotiated independently, said the head of the state-owned company Arsen Zhumadilov.
The head of the state enterprise (SE) “Medical Procurement of Ukraine”, Arsen Zhumadilov, accused the Minister of Health of Ukraine, Maxim Stepanov, of independently appointing the supplier of the coronavirus vaccine. Zhumadilov announced this on his Facebook page on January 3.
According to him, manufacturers had to reserve around 40 million doses of vaccines for Ukraine so that the country was not among the “outsiders of the world.” In addition to the 8 million doses under the COVAX program, drug orders on a commercial basis would reach 32 million doses. Instead, they had zero as of Dec. 29, Zhumadilov said.
The head of Medical Purchasing added that since spring it was necessary to sign at least four or five agreements with several manufacturers of vaccines against the coronavirus made with different technologies. In addition, it was necessary to prescribe an exhaustive list of requirements for the vaccine, which, if not met by the manufacturer, would become the basis for rejecting the drug.
As a result, the Ministry of Health authorized the state company to buy vaccines only on December 10.
“That same day, the GP informed the candidate vaccine manufacturers of this decision and informed them of the intention to order a certain quantity of vaccine. As of December 18, a dialogue was held with several manufacturers to conclude the supply contracts as soon as possible. This communication was supported by authorized representatives of the Ministry of Health. But not a minister, “said the Medzakupak chief.
“More interesting still. On December 21, Stepanov, in a meeting with the prime minister (Denis Shmygal), said that the country is in danger due to a breakdown in negotiations with vaccine manufacturers, because the state company requires – attention – a bank guarantee for the prepayment, “wrote Zhumadilov.
After Stepanov’s call, Shmygal instructed Medzakupki to work with the market exclusively through the Ministry of Health.
“Whether due to a lack of understanding of the specificities of the operation of financial instruments, or with the intention of eliminating the public company from direct negotiations, the minister issued this demand to our suppliers as a threat of failure,” he said.
As of the morning of December 28, the SE received a response from only one provider, with whom it reached an agreement. The CEO of Medzakupok believes that the principle of separation of functions of the body politic (MPH) and the procurement agency was not fulfilled in the framework of this purchase.
“The minister, in fact, determined the supplier himself. According to my information, Ukraine could get a price of at least $ 1 lower than the final price if the state-owned company negotiated independently, creating competitive pressure on the supplier. As of today, we could already have two contracts to supply two different vaccines, but not one, “concluded Zhumadilov.
He also said that the Ministry of Health has no experience in procuring medical supplies. All purchases of the Ministry of Health in recent years are the office, Internet and repair work in the office. For the needs of the health system last year, Stepanov made only one purchase, namely imported biosecurity suits. As a result of such purchase, the products did not arrive on time and did not pass the certification, added the GP director.
“The Ministry of Health cannot concentrate on itself the authority to determine the issue of the purchase and at the same time determine the counterpart for its supply. The temptation is too great for the officials who, over the years of hard work in government positions, have developed Rolex and Breguet, Lexus and Range Rover. It is unpleasant when the country and all taxpayers are taken for fools, ”emphasized the director of Medzakupki.
Since January, the only role played by the Ministry of Health in the procurement of vaccines should be communication: confirming, if applicable, to vaccine manufacturers, the powers of the GP to contract vaccines, he said.
“I do not plan to play the game of Minister Stepanov in his mediocre attempts to negotiate, sharing the responsibility with him for the failure in the advance order of vaccines,” said the head of the GP.
On December 28, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine signed a contract for the supply Chinese vaccine against COVID-19 by Sinovac Biotech, the department expects to receive the first 700 thousand doses in February 2021. Ukraine plans to buy 1.9 million doses at a price of 504 UAH per dose, for Ukrainians vaccination will be free.
Ukraine will receive the vaccine in within 30 days after the drug is registered in the country of origin or in the US, EU, Brazil or Turkey.
On December 31, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine reported on the purchase of the first batch of coronavirus vaccine in the amount of UAH 964 million.
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