Vaccine will be free once available -- Galvez
Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., chief implementer of the National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19, cautioned the public against making individual reservations of COVID-19 vaccines, saying this could cause more harm than help.
"We would like to remind the public that only the Philippine government is duly authorized to procure COVID-19 vaccines and administer them. Any other offers of guaranteed access to any of the vaccines is not only illegal, but also life-threatening," he said.
He went on to say that vaccines will be distributed to all Filipinos free of charge once it becomes available.
"May I appeal to our countrymen to be patient and exercise good judgement, as we await the arrival of the vaccines. The vaccine will be given to all Filipinos for free," he said.
Galvez, who is also the vaccine czar, said his office received reports about individuals making reservations for a COVID-19 vaccine.
Citing the reports, Galvez said buyers were urged to pay $22 or roughly P1,100 before 9 a.m. of December 21, 2020 to avail themselves of a vaccine which will supposedly arrive in the third quarter of 2021.
He said coordination was already made with concerned agencies to identify those responsible for the misinformation about the government's vaccine procurement, and for their possible prosecution.
According to Galvez, the Vaccine Expert Panel and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are still in the process of evaluating the clinical trials of the candidate vaccines which are being eyed by the national government, which means that Emergency Use Authorizations (EUA) have not been issued to any of them.
"As such, it should be made clear that none of these vaccines should be sold to the the public pending the issuance of EUAs. All vaccines that are reportedly being sold through the black market are deemed illegal," he noted.
The NTF official urged the public to be discerning in what they share, especially those coming from social media platforms, amid the proliferation of false information regarding the availability of COVID-19 vaccines and procuring them through private means.
"Let us keep in mind that the spread of false information during this critical time may cost lives," he said.
Nonetheless, Galvez assured the public that the government "is exerting all efforts to secure safe, effective, and cost-effective COVID-19 vaccines for Filipinos at the most appropriate time."
The government is currently in talks with several vaccine manufacturers for the supply of a COVID-19 vaccine, among them are from the United States, China, Russia, United Kingdom, and India.
The initial supply of a COVID-19 vaccine is expected to arrive in the first quarter of 2021 as the government signed a tripartite agreement with AstraZeneca and the private sector.
Talks are on-going with the Chinese government for the possible delivery of one of its three candidate vaccines, Sinovac, which is expected to arrive earlier than AstraZeneca.
Meanwhile, the bulk of the supplies of the COVID-19 vaccines are expected to be made available by mid-2021 or by early 2022.