Vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. on Sunday asked business groups to wait for the government’s emergency use authorization before using the private sector’s COVID-19 vaccines that are at risk of expiring.
Currently, Galvez said, the EUA issued by Food and Drug Administration Director General Eric Domingo covers booster doses for health workers, seniors and people with comorbidities.
“Actually, kami ni [Health Secretary Francisco Duque III] at [Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez], we are for the private sector to use their expiring doses. Ang aantayin lang po natin ang EUA kasi ang EUA ng nailabas ng ating DG Eric ay only for A1, A2 at A3,” he said at a virtual presser.
[Duque, Lopez and I are for using the expiring doses. But we have to wait for the EUA, because the EUA issued covers only the A1, A2, and A3 sectors.)
Aside from the FDA approval, Galvez said they are also seeking directives from the World Health Organization. He said the priority is to give booster shots to health workers, senior citizens and those with underlying health diseases.
“‘Yan ang kalakaran kasi nagiintay po tayo ng directive from WHO…kasi once hindi natin sinunod ang kanilang guidelines, maapektuhan ang COVAX delivery po natin,” he explained.
(We are waiting for WHO directives because if we won’t follow their guidelines, our COVAX delivery will be affected.)
“We no longer have a shortage, and with a large stockpile, we risk having vaccines expire and go to waste,” the groups said.
Tripartite agreement
When asked if the government will allow the private sector to buy their own vaccines, Galvez said they prefer that local government units and private companies concentrate on the purchase of ancillary items, such as syringes, and cold chain storage.
“Nakita nila [private companies, LGUs] na nagkaroon ng kumpiyansa na kayang bumili ng gobyerno ng mas maraming vaccine… Ang nakita natin ang LGU at private sector dapat mag-concentrate ng ancillary; sila na lang ang bumili ng syringes, sila mag-ano ng cold chain at national government bahala sa vaccine,” he said.
The vaccine czar also pointed out that manufacturers prefer to deal with the national government because the government “buys in bulk,” contrary to tripartite agreements which sometimes purchase only 20,000 to 30,000 vaccines.
Nevertheless, Galvez said, they are still open for tripartite agreements with LGUs and private firms.
“Preference ng manufacturer is to have bilateral with government. But we will be open for tripartite kasi nakita na napakaganda ng naging product ng tripartite agreement [tripartite agreements had good results],” he said. — BM, GMA News
Galvez to biz groups: Wait for EUA before using expiring COVID-19 vaccines
Source: Balita News
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