Duque, nagpaliwanang sa pagkaantala ng pagdating ng COVID vaccine

ni Ronalyn Seminiano Reonico | December 24, 2020

Inamin ni Department of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III na nasaktan siya matapos masisi ng publiko sa pagkakaantala ng maaga sanang pagdating sa bansa ng 10 million doses ng COVID-19 vaccine mula sa Pfizer.

Pahayag ni Duque, “Masakit lang sa akin kasi nga, eh, sana hindi ganoon. Sana napag-usapan, nagbigay ng sulat, formal, may documentation lahat, because to me that’s how professional governance works.”

Ibinulgar ni Senator Panfilo Lacson kamakailan na sa January 2021, nakatakdang dumating sa Pilipinas ang 10 million doses ng COVID-19 vaccine mula sa Pfizer kung naging mabilis lamang sana ang pagpirma sa Confidential Disclosure Agreement.

Pinabulaanan naman ni Duque ang akusasyon sa diumano’y mabagal niyang pag-aksiyon upang malagdaan ang CDA.

Aniya, “I have already said this over and over again. There was no dropping the ball. Ang ginawa natin dito is due diligence. We cannot be reckless. We cannot be signing documents without legal clearance.

“The problem is if people talk and yet they do not have the competence to comprehend the complexities of the vaccine selection, scientific evaluation, procurement, distribution, production, storage, logistical requirements, the actual immunization program. These are all the imperatives of our vaccine roadmap and we must understand the process.”

Mensahe rin ni Duque sa publiko, “Ako as a professional, trabaho na lang tayo, we move forward, we explain to the people. We leave it at that. “We have too much on our plate. We cannot spend our time bickering and trying to say something to counter somebody’s statement. So we just move on kasi ang bigat-bigat ng ating hamon.”

US Pres.-elect Biden, naturukan na ng COVID-19 vaccine

ni Thea Janica Teh | December 22, 2020

Nakatanggap na ng unang infected dose para sa COVID-19 si US President-elect Joe Biden nitong Lunes upang mahikayat ang publiko na magpaturok at maipakitang safe ang vaccine na ito na sisimulang ipamahagi sa susunod na taon. Kabilang si Biden sa high-risk group sa COVID-19 dahil sa edad na 78.

Kaya naman ito umano ang kanyang panlaban sa COVID-19 na nakapatay ng halos 315,000 katao sa Amerika at may kabuuang 17.5 milyong naimpeksiyon. Si Tabe Mase, isang nurse practitioner at head ng Employee Health Services sa Christiana Hospital sa Newark Delaware ang nanguna sa pagturok ng vaccine kay Biden sa harap ng mga reporters.

Matapos maturukan ng vaccine na ginawa ng Pfizer Inc., agad na pinuri ni Biden ang mga medical professionals at sinabing sila ay bayani.

Aniya, "I'm doing this to demonstrate that people should be prepared when it's available to take the vaccine. There's nothing to worry about."

Bukod pa rito, pinaalalahanan ni Biden ang publiko na makinig sa mga medical experts at huwag nang bumiyahe ngayong Kapaskuhan. Kinilala rin ni Biden ang mga scientists na gumawa ng vaccine na ito at sinabing "I think that the (Trump) administration deserves some credit, getting this off the ground with Operation Warp Speed."

Samantala, sa susunod na linggo naman nakatakdang magpaturok ng vaccine si Vice-President-elect Kalama Harris.

Govt. offc'ls, walang access sa pondo ng COVID-19 vaccine — Galvez

ni Ronalyn Seminiano Reonico | December 19, 2020

Binigyang-diin ng National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 chief implementer at vaccine czar na si Carlito Galvez Jr. na walang opisyal ng gobyerno ang may access sa pondo para sa COVID-19 vaccines at pinabulaanan din niya ang isyu na mayroong “kickback” umano ang ilan sa mga ito na naging dahilan ng pagkaantala ng pagdating sa bansa ng 10 million doses ng bakunang gawa ng Pfizer.

Aniya, “Our fund managers such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have laid out very stringent regulatory requirements and processes [that] we need to follow such as World Health Organization accreditation of the vaccines and Stringent Regulatory Authorization of foreign countries like the US, UK, Canada, or Singapore.

“We would also like to emphasize that no government official has access to the funds for vaccine procurement. All deals will be made through international procurement agreements and all payments for the vaccines will be managed by our multilateral partners with the Department of Finance (DOF) [in] the lead.”

Nauna nang nabanggit ni Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan noong Huwebes na umaasa siyang hindi ang isyu ng “kickvacc” ang dahilan ng pagkaantala ng delivery ng 10 million doses ng Pfizer COVID-19 sa bansa.

Pahayag ni Pangilinan, "Huwag naman sana na may issue ng 'kickvacc' sa dropping of the ball ng Pfizer vaccine procurement.”

Matatandaan namang binanggit ni Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. na “someone dropped the ball” kaya naapektuhan ang shipment ng naturang bakuna sa bansa. Nabanggit naman ni Senator Panfilo Lacson na si Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III ang naging dahilan umano ng pagkaantala nito.

Aniya, “Thus, they could have secured the delivery of 10 million Pfizer vaccines as early as January next year, way ahead of Singapore but for the indifference of Secretary Duque who failed to work on the necessary documentary requirement, namely, the confidentiality disclosure agreement (CDA) as he should have done.”

Samantala, pinabulaanan naman ito ni Duque at aniya ay patuloy pa rin ang negosasyon ng Pilipinas at Pfizer. Dahil sa isyu na ito, ipinaliwanag ni Galvez ang proseso ng vaccine procurement.

Aniya, “To give you a clear picture of the process of vaccine procurement and allay the fears of some quarters, the DOH leads the government’s preparation for the Agency Procurement Request (APR).

“Meanwhile, as vaccine czar, my role is primarily focused on negotiating directly with the vaccine companies to make sure we get the best deal possible in terms of cost, volume, time of delivery, and supply agreement.”

Aniya, kapag napagkasunduan na ang draft contract, isusumite naman ito sa Department of Finance upang masiguro na naaayon ito sa mga requirements ng Food and Drug Administration.

Aniya pa, “Once cleared, the contract will be forwarded to our multilateral partners or fund managers for further review and validation to ensure the integrity of the contract.”

Saad pa ni Galvez, “We want to assure the public that all transactions the government has entered into are being done with utmost transparency, sense of fairness, and accountability.”