With 1.5 million vaccines worth over a billion pesos expiring by end-July, private sector is seeking clarity on government’s plan on, and on business’ role in, vaccine acquisition and rollout once the state of public health emergency in the country is lifted in September.
Joey Concepcion, sector head for jabs to jabs of the Private Sector Advisory Council and convenor of the Advisory Council of Experts seeks to define the next steps of government after September 17, when the public state of health emergency expires.
Concepcion has been appealing to Health Technology Assessment Council to expand the coverage of those eligible to the second booster shots of the new coronavirus disease 2019 vaccines to ramp up vaccination and raise the wall of immunity especially as doses are still available.
“Does the private sector play a role in purchasing vaccines? What is after the second booster, are we continuing?,” said Concepcion, saying the signal from government would enable the business sector to plan ahead.
Citing the private sector’s role in purchasing doses at the start of the vaccines’ availability in 2020, half of which were donated to government, Concepcion said: “We need to know what’s going to happen and this is where maybe we can bring more experts…to really determine so the private sector (which) is very willing to secure vaccines for its employees, can plan ahead.”
He said private sector may consider buying vaccines specific to the new variant/s.
He said if the government goes to the direction of extending the emergency use authorization, then they would still sign a tripartite agreement with the private sector.
“If you look at these expiring vaccines, that’s a lot of money,” Concepcion said at the Pandesal Forum yesterday.
The expiring vaccines were acquired by the private sector through the tripartite agreement
A Dose of Hope. Each AstraZeneca jab is estimated to cost at least $5 each, while Moderna shots were bought for around $27 for each dose.
The total expiring vaccines in warehouses are 887,360 Moderna and 628,680 AstraZeneca.
At 50 to the dollar in 2020, the cost of acquiring the vaccines totals P1.35 billion, P157 million AstraZeneca and P1.197 billion Moderna.
