DOH eyes exemption of COVID-19 vaccines from law vs. advance payment

To ensure quick access, the Department of Health (DOH) is eyeing to secure exemption of COVID-19 vaccines from a provision in the Procurement Law that bans advance payment, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said Wednesday.

“We are bound by the Procurement Law on [prohibition on] advance payment, and we have sought the assistance of the Office of the President for a direction, for a special exemption on not giving advance payment until the orders are here under RA 9184,” Vergeire said at an online forum.

“Many of vaccine manufacturers and other partners we are negotiating with are requiring advance payment kaya ginagawan natin ng paraan na magkaroon ng exemption because of this pandemic,” she added.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier said that his administration will be securing a $300-million loan for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines.

The most advanced of all vaccine candidates is the one developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, which has been found 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 during Phase 3 of the clinical trials.

Storing the said vaccine, however, is another challenge since it needs to be kept at -70 degrees Celsius (-94F) or below, given that it is using a new technology identified as synthetic mRNA needed to activate the immune system against the virus.

In the Philippines, only China's Sinovac has been able to secure approval from the vaccine experts panel so far. Sinovac would still need approvals from the Ethics Board and the Food and Drug Administration before it can proceed with Phase 3 of its clinical trials in the country.

Other vaccine manufacturers which seek to sell COVID-19 vaccines to the Philippines would also need the approval of the vaccine experts panel, the Ethics Board and the FDA before they can sell their product here.

President Duterte earlier said that those in class ABC can buy their own COVID-19 vaccine since the government will only pay for the vaccines of the poor and other vulnerable sectors.

The Philippines has recorded 399,749 COVID-19 cases so far. Of this number, 361,919 recovered while 7,661 died. The number of active COVID-19 cases is at 30,169. —KBK, GMA News