Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. on Friday called on the public to be patient amid some delays in the arrival of vaccines due to a limited global supply and other factors.
“Our negotiation with COVAX facility is still ongoing and we are hopeful that they will fulfill their commitment to bring us the 44 million doses here in the first and second quarter,” he said in Filipino.
Earlier, the delivery of the first batch of vaccines from COVAX was delayed because the Philippines has no indemnification law to compensate those who might suffer serious side effects after being given the vaccine.
But on Friday, Galvez cited instead the tight global supply, saying the Philippines wasn’t the only one having a hard time buying vaccines.
He said out of some 130 countries, 32 have yet to receive any COVID-19 vaccines.
Originally, some 117,000 doses of Pfizer vaccines were scheduled to arrive this month and meant to be used for the inoculation of health care workers.
While waiting for the vaccines to arrive, the government should prepare for the opening of classes in areas with a low number of COVID-19 cases, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said Friday.
In this way, Gatchalian said the students and employees can prepare themselves after staying at home for almost a year.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has recommended pilot face-to-face classes in low-risk areas in the country by March.
The UN agency emphasized that prolonged school closures have long-term devastating effects: learning loss and inequalities, increased number of dropouts, a surge in cases of violence and abuse, and mental distress due to the lack of interactions.
Gatchalian also took note of the University of Warwick in England’s assessment that schools do not appear to play a big role in spreading coronavirus.
He said researchers found out that the absences incurred by teachers and pupils matched infection rates in the wider community, with no evidence that schools were a major driver of cases.
“If we scrutinize experiences and studies in other countries, we can see the possibility of safe opening of classes while implementing health protocols like physical distancing, wearing of face masks and regular hand washing,” said Gatchalian.
Meanwhile, Senator Juan Edgardo Angara said the early approval of the COVID-19 vaccination program bill would go a long way to ensure the unhampered distribution of vaccines to Filipinos across the country.
Angara, the sponsor of Senate Bill 2057 as chairman of the Committee on Finance, said the bill covers various aspects of the implementation of the government’s vaccination program—from the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines to the inoculation of the population.
“Contrary to the perception of some people, this measure is more than just establishing an indemnification fund, but it is also for the peace of mind of our local chief executives who, in their decision to procure vaccines, are all after the well-being of their constituents during these difficult times,” Angara said.
“The bill will provide legal cover to the LGUs, many of which have intimated to us their concern about possible adverse findings by the Commission on Audit and even graft cases that may be filed against their officials,” Angara added.
Exemptions will be granted to the LGUs from the legal requirements and prohibitions under Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act, Presidential Decree 1445 or the Government Auditing Code of the Philippines, the Local Government Code (LGC), and other related laws during the state of calamity due to the pandemic.
One such prohibition under the LGC is the making of advance payments for goods not yet delivered.
Based on a survey conducted by the League of Provinces of the Philippines, 70 LGUs are prepared to spend over P13 billion to purchase and administer vaccines– P4.39 billion from the 32 provinces and P8.72 billion from 38 cities and municipalities.
A number of these LGUs have already signed supply agreements with the vaccine manufacturers but these have yet to be perfected. No payments have been made so far because the LGUs are still waiting for the passage of a bill that would exempt them from the prohibition of advance payments.
The lack of an indemnification fund, meanwhile, has already delayed the delivery of vaccines.
Vaccine manufacturers want an indemnification clause in their supply contracts to protect them from possible legal claims that may arise later on after the vaccines have been administered.
Under the bill, a COVID-19 National Indemnity Fund will be established for the compensation of any inoculated person who subsequently experiences severe adverse effects or even death.
The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), as administrator of the fund, will receive an augmentation of P500 million to its existing funds, which will be sourced from the Contingent Fund of the 2021 General Appropriations Act.
Senator Risa Hontiveros on Friday urged the National Taskforce Against COVID-19 (NTF) to commit to a vaccination timeline before making public statements amid devastating unemployment in the country.
The NTF had earlier announced that the COVAX facility vaccines were to arrive on Feb. 14, but recently reported that they have been delayed to Feb. 26, as much as two weeks later.
“As long as the cases of COVID-19 are rising, we cannot relax health protocols and we cannot fully open up the economy. Any delay in the vaccination rollout means people will have to face tremendous suffering in the pandemic for even longer,” she said. –