Gov’t signs indemnification deal for Pfizer, AstraZeneca jabs

MANILA – The government has already signed the indemnification agreement with vaccine manufacturers Pfizer and AstraZeneca under COVAX facility negotiations, National Policy Against Covid-19 chief implementer and vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said on Wednesday.

“Sa pamamagitan nito ay puwede na pong makapagpadala ng bakuna dito sa ating bansa ang AstraZeneca (Through this, AstraZeneca can now deploy vaccines in our country) through COVAX,” he said during the Laging Handa press briefing.

Galvez said the World Health Organization (WHO) has already approved the Emergency Use Listing (EUL) for AstraZeneca firm.

He added that the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccine firms have already submitted applications for the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to the country’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“Ang FDA po natin ay nag-isyu na ng EUA para sa Pfizer sa ilalim ng COVAX donation at ang AstraZeneca naman ongoing po ang pag-aapruba ng EUA para sa mga donasyon galing sa COVAX (The FDA have already issued a EUA to Pfizer vaccine under the COVAX facility, while the EUA is now being approved for AstraZeneca’s donations under COVAX facility),” he said.

He said the government is well-prepared for the arrival of the first batch of 117,000 doses of vaccine from Pfizer.

Galvez said the government is now polishing the final arrangements and necessary requirements for the vaccine deployment.

Meanwhile, Galvez said all Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers were requiring an indemnification clause agreed upon in the contracts.

“Sa lahat po ng kontrata na pinipirmahan po natin, kasama po iyon, kasama po iyong non-disclosure at saka iyong indemnification (In all contracts that we are signing, the indemnification is always part of it, including the non-disclosure agreement),” he added.

Galvez noted that the requirement for the indemnification clause is not limited to the negotiations under the COVAX facility.

“So lahat po ng mga vaccine, hindi lang po ang COVAX, required po talaga nila iyong tinatawag na indemnification clause (The indemnification clause is required in all contracts and not only in negotiations under COVAX facility),” he said.

On the other hand, Galvez said they are diligently working to finalize the supply agreement.

He said the negotiations on definitive payments and delivery under the supply agreement are ongoing.

Galvez added that the vaccine suppliers are now working on the binding of the term sheets under the supply agreement so that the final terms for the payments and delivery will be settled.

The vaccine czar reiterated that once the supply agreement will be finalized, the disclosure of details for vaccine arrival including the vaccine’s costs, volumes, and exact delivery dates will be disclosed to the public.

“Kung wala tayong violation sa mga agreements natin ay talaga pong iyong definitive na delivery ng 148 million doses ay darating po iyon (We are expecting for 148 million doses of vaccines if we maintain no violations to the agreements),” said Galvez.

The government is eyeing to inoculate about 70 million Filipinos this year.