Galvez: Gov't will soon let LGUs, private sector buy COVID-19 jabs

Vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said Saturday the government will soon allow local government units, and the private sector to purchase their own COVID-19 vaccines without entering into multi-party contracts.

“In the future, we’ll change our procurement strategy. ‘Yung ating mga LGU at private sector pwede na dumiretso, wala na tayong magiging MPA [multi-party agreements],” Galvez said during a taped briefing aired Saturday morning.

(Our LGUs and private sector can directly procure vaccines without MPAs.)

LGUs and the private sector had been allowed to procure their own COVID-19 vaccine supplies by entering into MPA between the purchasing party, the manufacturer or distributor, and the national government.

Galvez said the change in the procurement strategy could stem from the introduction of “reformulated boosters” and the fill authorization of Pfizer and other brands.

“For 2022, we are now negotiating with four manufacturers for the introduction of reformulated booster… this is the next-generation booster to extend efficacy,” he said.

Likewise, the government is re-calibrating its focus and expanding strategy by giving more allocations now to Regions 4-A, 3, 7, 6, 10, 11, and other surge areas.

“Vaccine alone cannot stop the Delta [variant], we need to increase prevention strategy: masking, ventilation, and massive vaccination with people’s participation at the core of our response,” Galvez said.

Further, Galvez said the government’s vaccination drive is still on-track as it received a total of 54,794,130 doses and administered 37,728,114 doses with 16,138,934 individuals fully vaccinated. —LBG, GMA News