The Delivery of COVID-19 vaccines from the COVAX Facility would be delayed by a week, according to Galvez.
Vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. on Friday said that the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines from the World Health Organization (WHO)-led COVAX Facility would be delayed by a week because of the absence of an indemnification law in the Philippines.
In an interview on ANC, Galvez said that the delay was only for one week, adding that the Philippine government was trying to fast-track insertion of an indemnification clause in the contract, which would ensure compensation for Filipinos who would experience serious side effects after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.
“We are finishing our documentation on time. Pero ‘yung tinatawag nating indemnification clause, matagal na naming hinahanap po ‘yun kaya lang po binigay lang ito only this week. Now, our lawyers are trying to finish it today so that we don’t have any more obstruction on the delivery of the vaccine,” he said.
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Earlier, Galvez told the Senate that the Philippines could have received 117,000 Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine doses by now if the country had an indemnification law.
Galvez had been calling on Congress to pass such law, which he said was required by the COVAX Facility. Two Senate bills seeking to establish an indemnification fund for vaccine-related injuries had been filed at the Senate.
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Meanwhile, Galvez reiterated that the Philippines had not yet signed a supply agreement with any COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer since it required a definitive delivery date.
Earlier, senators expressed alarm after the vaccine czar disclosed that the Philippines was yet to sign a supply agreement with any COVID-19 vaccine supplier.
According to Galvez, what had been signed so far were term sheets that locked in the supply of more than 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses.
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