Presidential special adviser for entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion said Wednesday that the private sector cannot purchase COVID-19 vaccines directly as drug manufacturers want an indemnification deal which can only be provided by the government.
President Rodrigo Duterte previously said he would permit private firms to buy COVID-19 vaccines for their employees.
“Akala ng mga tao mahigpit …nagform kami ng tripartite agreement kasi ang pharmaceutical company di naman magbebenta samin kung wala silang indemnification di naman makakapagbigay ang private companies ng indemnification,” Concepcion said.
“Bawal magbayad ang government ng deposit kung walang FDA approval. Ginawa namin, nagreserve kami maski wala pang approval ang AstraZeneca sa EU. We got the allocation kaya dadating ng mas maaga ngayong May at June,” he added.
A group of private companies led by Concepcion, in a tripartite agreement with the government and Astrazeneca, secured 17 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine, half of which would be donated to the public sector.
