Malacañang assured the public that those who may show adverse side effects after receiving the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine of China's Sinovac are covered under the indemnity fund law that President Duterte has certified as urgent last week.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque made the statement after the local Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finally issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) to Sinovac's CoronaVac vaccine, prompting the delivery of the initial 600,000 doses donated by the Chinese government.
In his Monday presser, Roque said that Sinovac did not require any indemnification agreement unlike pharmaceutical firms Pfizer and AstraZeneca. However, he assured that those who may show adverse side effects will be covered by the P500-million indemnity fund.
"There's a law being passed by Congress and of course, the law is applicable to all vaccines," he said.
"There will be an indemnity fund. In case of side effects, there is no obligation on the part of the claimant to prove fault or negligence. They can recover from the P500-million indemnification fund," he added.
According to Roque, there was no need for the government to wait for President Duterte to sign the much-awaited indemnification law before they proceed with the vaccine rollout.
"Hindi na po dahil ang inaantay lang talaga natin ang pagdating ng bakuna (There's no need to wait for the law because what we were really waiting for is the arrival of the vaccine anyway)," he said.
"In any case, I read from the news that both chambers of Congress are ready to pass it into law today," he added.
On February 18, President Duterte certified as urgent the bills seeking to establish an indemnity fund for those getting the COVID-19 vaccines. Talks about the indemnification agreement surfaced after Pfizer and AstraZeneca, two pharmaceutical manufacturers that received an emergency use authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), require such an agreement before the vaccine doses could be delivered.
Roque explained last week that the indemnity bill, particularly a no-fault indemnification, was important because the Philippines will be procuring vaccines that are authorized for emergency use and not commercial use.
A no-fault indemnification allows those who may show side effects after getting the COVID-19 vaccine to claim damages without having to go to court and prove that there was fault or negligence that led to the side effect.
Meanwhile, Roque said last week the country cannot wait for vaccine manufacturers to be issued a commercial use authorization because of the threat of the more contagious COVID-19 strain that originated from the United Kingdom.