The Philippine government, through the business sector and the Local Government Units (LGUs), has secured 17 million doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, but the delivery would likely be in the second semester of this year.

Carlito Galvez, vaccine czar and chief implementer of the National Task Force on COVID-19, said  the 17 million doses of the AstraZeneca that were sealed by the government, through the donations of more than 300 companies and allocation of LGUs, would inoculate more or less 8.5 million Filipinos since each individual needs two doses for the vaccination.
 
This means that part of the 17 million doses are the agreements that were signed by the 39 LGUs, which include Makati City, Pasig City, Manila and Davao City,  for the inoculation of their respective constituents.
 
During Thursday’s ceremonial signing of the agreement for the procurement of the AstraZeneca vaccine branded as a “A Dose of Hope”, Galvez said the tripartite agreement is part of the government’s collective effort to vaccinate 50 to 70 million Filipinos this year.
 
“Our event for today is anchored on providing safe, effective and free vaccines for all Filipinos. This initiative is not only a dose of hope but a pound of inspiration that will help us realize our collective goal of inoculating 50 to 70 million Filipinos this year,” said Galvez in his speech.
 
Aside from AstraZeneca, the Philippine government is also procuring vaccines from other companies that include Pfizer and Sinovac from China. At least 50,000 doses of Sinovac is expected to arrive next month and would start the vaccination program in the country.
 
Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion said they are also looking for other vaccine manufacturers as more companies are expected to donate in a bid to jumpstart the economy amid the adverse impact of the Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) on the business sector.
 
In fact, he said he would be meeting with another vaccine supplier next week for the procurement of more vaccines. But he insisted that the tripartite agreement should serve as the format for the procurement of vaccines.
 
He said a total of 335 companies and LGUs are involved in the agreement for the 17 million doses for the price of more or less P6 billion.

Why Can’t LGUs and Companies Buy on Their Own?

Galvez explained that the procurement of the vaccine for the COVID-19 is guided by the regulations of the World Health Organization which states that vaccine procurement should be controlled by the government.
 
“The vaccine’s use is only for containing the virus, we cannot commercialize the procurement. Globally, no company will sell directly to different companies because it would create confusion. The responsibility of the government (in procuring the vaccine” cannot be delegated to others,” said Galvez.
 
“We have learned our lessons from other countries and we have seen that command and control is very important,” he added.
 
Concepcion, for his part, said even the private sector is more comfortable to course their donation for the procurement of the vaccine to the government.
 
“The private sector, especially under EUA (Emergency Use Application) is more comfortable in working with the government in securing the vaccines. We don’t want to have responsibility on the implementation side that is a critical factor here, “ said Concepcion.

Reviving the Economy

Once the order for the vaccine arrives, all of them would be under the control of the Department of Health, although the business sector donors will also have a say on a portion of the donated vaccines in order to include the laborers.
 
Half of the vaccine  donations of the private sector are for the government frontliners while the other half are expected to be used by the labor force as part of the measure to revive the economy by protecting the workers.
 
In coming up with the agreement, Concepcion said that it was agreed by both the government and AstraZeneca that the workers of different industries are also considered as vulnerable in the coronavirus infection since they are always out to perform their jobs.

Equitable Access

But Galvez stressed that the government’s priority list will still be followed which means that frontliners and the poorest of the poor will be the first to get the free vaccinations.
 
He, however, agreed with Concepcion that laborers, particularly essential workers are also exposed to high risk of infection.
 
In coming up with the priority list, Galvez said they just want to make sure of equitable access to all Filipinos of the vaccine.
 
“We want equitable access particularly those low income laborers… and also we want to prevent privilege access. But there should be no worry, the government’s commitment is a free vaccine to everybody,” said Galvez.