Galvez explained the issues hounding vaccine tripartite deals with local private companies
Vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr explained the issues hounding vaccine tripartite procurement deals with local private companies.
On Tuesday, Galvez said that some COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers preferred to deal with only the national government, a condition that has hampered tripartite procurement deals with local private firms.
According to Galvez, vaccine manufacturers such as Gamaleya and Sinovac preferred orders from the national government since it’s simpler and they only have to talk to one party.
Meanwhile, other manufacturers such as AstraZeneca and Moderna have stopped accepting new orders.
Galvez said that many manufacturers weren’t interested in multi-party agreements because they wanted to talk to only one party, adding that some vaccine orders were also facing regulatory issues.
The Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has also yet to grant Novavax COVID-19 an emergency use authorization.
READ ALSO: FDA Grants Full Approval To Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine In US
Galvez also said that the national government was only practicing due diligence in vaccine procurement.
“Hindi po namin hino-hold ‘yung tripartite agreement. Hindi po namin dine-delay. Ang ginagawa lang po namin is ‘yung due diligence, katulad ng DOH, ganoon din po ang ginagawa namin. Kaya po talagang gusto po namin ‘yung pera ng LGU at ‘yung pera ng private sector, hindi po sila mapapahamak sa ginagawa po natin,” Galvez said.
Data from the government showed that nearly 17.5 million others have received their first dose and nearly 13.2 million individuals were already fully vaccinated against the coronavirus disease as of August 23, 2021.
Meanwhile, FDA Director-General Eric Domingo on Tuesday said that Moderna has applied for emergency use authorization (EUA) to use its COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 12 years and above in the Philippines.
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