Galvez sees vaccine deal finalized in 2 weeks

MANILA – National Policy Against Covid-19 chief implementer and vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. on Wednesday said the government expects to finalize the supply agreements with pharmaceutical companies by “end of January or first week of February.”

“We expect that upon learning the indicative date of the delivery, we will be having the final rundown and rehearsals,” Galvez said during a press conference in Parañaque City.

Galvez said they are now coordinating with local government units (LGUs) to synchronize simulation activities in preparation for the vaccination campaign in the country.

“We will coordinate with the LGUs so that the rehearsals including the time and motion from the airport to the warehouse to the LGU, it will be rehearsed,” he said.

“I believe the critical terms are already iron out so we are really confident that by [the end] of January, all the contracts will be finished,” he added.

Logistics

Galvez assured on-time shipment of Covid jabs to identified vaccination sites.

“Mayroon tayong tinatawag na (We will conduct an) inspection from the airport and we will still have ‘yung tinatawag na time and motion at the airport and we will make sure the delivery will not be delayed, if the inspections will be done in the warehouse, we will make sure it will not exceed [for] five days,” he said.

The shipment of the vaccines in Visayas and Mindanao could be directly delivered to cold chain storage facilities in strategic areas including Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, and Davao City.

“We are talking with the pharmaceutical companies and also with the vaccine makers that once the vaccine will be stored in the main storage facilities, they should have the capacity to deploy it, meaning they should have a strategic reach to deploy anywhere,” he said.

Galvez said they will reveal the price list of all the vaccines to the public once supply agreements are finalized and the pharmaceutical firms allow them to disclose the costs.

He reiterated that they cannot give any premature details of the agreements while negotiations are ongoing due to the so-called confidential disclosure agreement (CDA).

“When we sign the supply agreement and the parties agreed to announce it, then we will announce it, but while we don’t have yet the final contract, it is really some sort of honorable agreement with trust and confidence that we will not reveal any prices because they are also negotiating with other countries,” he said.

Galvez said divulging vaccine rates early will compromise both the negotiating terms between pharmaceutical firms and the government.

“For every violation that we will make we might lose the volumes,” he added. “They might withdraw the contract and we might lose the 148 million [doses of vaccine].”

The government has ongoing negotiations with seven pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, Sinovac, Gamaleya, and Novavax.