Gov’t to indemnify those who will experience adverse reactions from COVID-19 vaccines —DOH

The Philippine government will be the one to compensate and assist those who will develop adverse reactions after getting COVID-19 vaccines, the Department of Health (DOH) said Saturday.

This, as vaccine manufacturers require an indemnification agreement to be signed prior to the procurement and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in an interview on Dobol B sa News TV.

“All of the manufacturers want an indemnification agreement. Wala po dapat daw mag-charge ng any case against them dahil ang products are still under development,” Vergeire said.

“[So] it will be the government... Kung halimbawa, ang isang tao ay magkakaroon ng reaksyon, kung sakaling mao-ospital, ito po ay sasagutin ng gobyerno through PhilHealth,” she said.

Vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. earlier said that Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine could have been delivered to the country as early as this Friday if the Philippines had its own indemnification law. 

Galvez has been calling on Congress to pass an indemnification law, which he said is required by COVAX, the globally-pooled vaccine procurement and distribution effort co-led by the World Health Organization (WHO), the GAVI Alliance, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.

Last month, two bills seeking to establish an indemnity fund for vaccine-related injuries in the country were filed in the Senate.

Both bills propose that the indemnity fund be subsidized by pharmaceutical companies supplying the government with vaccines for public immunization programs, by reserving 1% of the contract price to be deposited with the national treasury. The bills also propose the creation of a Vaccines Compensation Board to manage the indemnification fund.

For now, Galvez said, the government has submitted a draft indemnity clause to the WHO and the GAVI Alliance.

“Ayan ay pinag-uusapan among different concerned units of government kung papaano gagawin ang indemnification na ito,” Vergeire said.

“But definitely, government will be supporting and assisting all those who will have reactions to these vaccines. Hindi lang hospitalization. Magkakaroon ng ibang forms of indemnification, fina-finalize lang ngayon. Inaayos lang... Kailangan lang tignan ang sources of funds natin,” she added.

The Philippines targets to inoculate 50 to 70 million individuals within the year, and an estimated 50,000 is expected to be vaccinated in February. —KG, GMA News