The marketing and sale of any coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine in the country is currently prohibited and punishable by law.

The Department of Health (DOH), the National Task Force against COVID-19 (NTF) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said this following reports of individuals and institutions claiming to sell COVID-19 vaccines that have been granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA).

In an advisory released on Feb. 9, the DOH, NTF and FDA stressed that the grant of EUA to any vaccine is "not equivalent to a product registration or market authorization, which means that said products may not be marketed or sold."

"Further, the tripartite agreements with private sector partners only authorize them to provide vaccines in accordance with the existing COVID-19 vaccination prioritization framework, therefore the public is cautioned against anyone who claims to sell or offer any COVID-19 vaccine," read the advisory.

According to the DOH, NTF and FDA, the safety and quality of vaccines purchased unlawfully cannot be guaranteed as these may be counterfeit or have not been transported in the right temperature (cold chain). 

"The public is reminded that counterfeit or spoiled vaccines may result in serious harm or injury, even death," the advisory read.

Vaccine challenges

Meanwhile, the DOH said the roll-out of the vaccination program for COVID-19 is filled with challenges, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Wednesday, Feb. 10.

The COVID-19 vaccination program is a "huge thing" to be undertaken by the Philippine government, said DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.

Among the challenges would be to avoid wastage of COVID-19 vaccines.

"Because of the importance of these vaccines, the challenge for us would be that we ensure na walang magiging wastage, walang dose na masasayang, lahat maibibigay (Because of the importance of these vaccines, the challenge for us would be to ensure that there will be no wastage, that all vaccines will be given to recipients)," she said during a media forum.

Vergeire said that the government is now preparing on how to efficiently distribute the vaccines in the different parts of the country.

"There will always be a challenge because of the distribution and transport. That is why the government is really preparing hard, we have already coordinated with the different regions (on how to distribute the vaccines)," she said.

On Tuesday, Feb. 9, the government conducted a simulation of the arrival and transport of vaccines.

“Generally, it went well. Nakita po natin that the efficient process was there. We were able to simulate and undertake the different processes in lesser time than was expected,” said Vergeire when asked about the DOH’s  assessment on the simulation activity.

Another challenge is boosting the public's confidence on COVID-19 vaccines, she said.

“What we are trying to do right now is intensifying the information. We are now highlighting our experts in talking to the public so that they can better understand the benefits and the safety of these vaccines that are forthcoming," she said.

Vergeire said that Filipinos cannot choose which vaccine brand they want to receive in the government's COVID-19 vaccination program.

“People should have a choice but we can't give them the choice right now because of global shortage. So that's a challenge for us on how we can convince them that kahit ang choice nya ay choice B, but choice A  is the one available--- dapat ito na muna ang kunin mo  (that even if his choice is choice B, but choice A is the one available --- you should take ),” she said.

The monitoring for adverse effects following immunization will also be a challenge, said Vergeire.

“Hindi lang po yan days after isang taon po namin susubaybayan at imomonitor lahat ng nabakunahan para makita natin ang epekto talaga ng bakuna (It's not just days but it will take a year to monitor all those vaccinated so that we can see the real effect of the vaccine),” she said.

“Remember, these vaccines are still being studied or under development, so we need to monitor the recipients for this long period of time,” she added.