Half of the COVID-19 vaccine doses from Sinopharm would be allocated to wives of PSG members, according to FDA.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday said that half of the 10,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses from Sinopharm would be allocated to the wives of the members of the Presidential Security Group (PSG).
FDA Director-General Eric Domingo confirmed it in a text message to Inquirer, saying that the wives of the PSG members were “close contacts of the soldiers.”
Domingo’s message came after Malacañang earlier announced that the Food and Drug Administration had issued a compassionate use license for 10,000 Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine doses for PSG members.
According to Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, the vaccines may also cover families of the PSG members since the number of President Rodrigo Duterte’s security detail wouldn’t reach 10,000.
Meanwhile, Sinopharm has yet to apply for an emergency use authorization (EUA) in the Philippines’ Food and Drug Administration.
FDA on Indemnification Issues
Domingo also expressed hope that the indemnification issues surrounding the COVID-19 vaccines would soon be ironed out in order to ensure the smooth and timely rollout of the Philippines’ vaccination program.
In an online interview, Domingo said that in other countries such as the United Kingdom, Japan, and the United States, there were laws for compensation or indemnification in case of any vaccine injury.
“I hope they settle it soon because I think that’s the last remaining point – the indemnification clause of the contract,” Domingo said.
If not, Domingo noted that the timeline of the country’s vaccination program might be affected.
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According to Domingo, there’s no existing indemnification framework in the Philippines as the need for indemnification had never happened before because all products that the Philippines procured prior to the coronavirus pandemic were “fully registered.”
However, Domingo said that for the COVID-19 vaccines, these were under Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), adding that even the COVAX Facility required an indemnification clause in their contract.
Domingo also expressed support to the proposal to set an “Indemnification Fund” so in case the Philippine government needed it. When he’s still in the Department of Health (DOH), Domingo said that they had been pushing for indemnification.
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