Malaca帽ang denied on Tuesday that it was favoring the more expensive, China-made CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine over other candidate shots, saying the government would buy what vaccines would become available to it as long as these were safe and effective.
CoronaVac is made by the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque noted that there was a global scramble for the COVID-19 vaccines being developed by several pharmaceutical companies.
鈥淎s of now, the market is really demand-driven and we will get what we can procure. We have no favorites,鈥� Roque said at a press briefing.
China commitment
China has committed to provide the Philippines with its COVID-19 vaccine, Roque said.
The Philippines has not yet been able to get a similar commitment for supplies of the Pfizer, AstraZeneca or Moderna vaccines, he said.
鈥淭he reason we are purchasing [CoronaVac] is we cannot immediately get Pfizer, AstraZeneca or Moderna,鈥� he said.
There are plans to acquire the Pfizer vaccine, he said, but this could arrive in the second and third quarter of 2021, he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not acceptable to the President to wait that long.鈥�
But it would be good if the Philippines would be able to get access to other COVID-19 vaccines, he added.
鈥楽omebody dropped ball鈥�
Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said the Philippines was supposed to get 10 million doses of Pfizer鈥檚 vaccine, but 鈥渟omebody dropped the ball.鈥�
In a series of tweets, Locsin said he and Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel 鈥淏abe鈥� Romualdez had arranged for the delivery of the vaccine with the help of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Locsin said the purchase of the Pfizer vaccine was to be bankrolled by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
鈥淭hat said, my thanks just the same to 鈥� Pompeo. We鈥擝abe Romualdez and I鈥攇ot 10 million doses of Pfizer financed by World Bank and ADB to be shipped thru FedEx to Clark (airport) in January,鈥� Locsin tweeted.
鈥淏UT SOMEBODY DROPPED THE BALL. I have steel ball bearings. I just need a slingshot,鈥� he added.
Asked by a Twitter user to elaborate, Locsin just said Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., head of the National Task Force Against COVID-19 who had been designated by President Duterte to lead the vaccine program, would be the one 鈥渙rdering.鈥�
鈥淣o. We did not miss the bus because we were slow to act. Babe and I were fast. Offers poured in. But there are none so slow as those who never had the intention to catch the bus,鈥� he said.
Locsin also defended Malaca帽ang鈥檚 decision to inoculate Filipinos with CoronaVac despite observation by critics that the Chinese vaccine was more expensive than the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines.
Without identifying him, Locsin pointed out that Dr. Anthony Leachon, a former adviser to the government鈥檚 coronavirus response who was criticized by Roque for raising doubts about the efficacy of CoronaVac, had worked for Pfizer.
鈥淚t鈥檚 normal native reaction to anything unfamiliar. This is not the time for pick and choose. All the vaccines are good and all of them have the limitations of short trials,鈥� Locsin said.
He claimed that individuals who had been vaccinated with the Pfizer shot had suffered 鈥淏ell鈥檚 palsy or frozen face,鈥� but it eventually 鈥渨ent away.鈥�
鈥淎s I said in speeches before international audiences鈥攏one challenged me鈥攏o serious power will invite stigma for the next two centuries by deploying a vaccine that it isn鈥檛 using on its own citizens,鈥� Locsin said.
鈥淎ll powers are doing that; China and Russia on their armed forces. Not a good place to play dice. Plus, no one will be forced to take a vaccine they don鈥檛 want,鈥� he added.
Besides, Locsin said, not a single vaccine developed by private pharmaceutical companies has secured a 鈥済overnment warranty,鈥� which, according to him, would not come until the vaccines procured by the government were formally released for use next year.
鈥楳ost cooperative鈥�
鈥淭he government will announce official [vaccination] on a certain date,鈥� he said, adding that vaccination against the new coronavirus would be a requirement for people who wanted to travel abroad.
According to Undersecretary Lloyd Lao of the Department of Budget and Management鈥檚 Procurement Service, China is one of the 鈥渕ost cooperative鈥� countries with the Philippines when it comes to vaccine negotiations.
鈥淭hey are making commitments and they are responding positively to us. That鈥檚 why Sinovac is one of the most active vaccine suppliers that鈥檚 negotiating with our country, because it has the imprimatur of China itself,鈥� Lao said.
What is most important to the government now is that the vaccine is safe, effective, and has approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Roque said.
Price is only secondary at this point in deciding which vaccine to buy, he said. 鈥淚 think price is a limited aspect because we鈥檙e in an emergency situation and vaccines are limited,鈥� he said.
Roque had been asked whether Malaca帽ang preferred the Sinovac vaccine over other candidate vaccines that were less expensive, and what it thought of claims that the Chinese shot was not backed by adequate safety and efficacy data.
The Philippines plans to acquire 25 million doses of CoronaVac by the first quarter of 2021. CoronaVac costs $60 (P3,000) for the two-dose regimen.
Pfizer鈥檚 vaccine, which the government is also negotiating to get, costs $39 (P1,950) for two doses. The AstraZeneca vaccine, which the private sector will purchase, costs $10 (P500) for two doses.
Cost secondary
Lao said the government would get the vaccine that would be the 鈥渟afest and the most effective and available.鈥�
鈥淐ost is secondary. What is important is that we get the vaccines available to the Philippines,鈥� he said.
FDA Director General Eric Domingo said the agency would study Sinovac鈥檚 vaccine objectively and that it would not tolerate any attempt to bribe it to get its approval.
Domingo had been asked at a news briefing about reports that Sinovac had bribed Chinese drug regulators in the past to get approval for its vaccines.
鈥淥ur study would be very objective. It would depend on the data and the evidence they would submit. They should not try to commit bribery in the Philippines because they would run into problems. They would all the more not get approval,鈥� Domingo said. INQ