CLOSE to 400,000 doses of bivalent COVID-19 vaccines are expected to arrive in the Philippines later this month, the Department of Health of Health said yesterday.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire did not say what country donated the 390,000 doses expected at the end of the month.
“We are just finalizing the documents. Hopefully, by the end of May, we would be able to receive this 390,000 doses,” she added.
Vergeire explained the donation is expected to arrive ahead of the 1,002,000 doses from the COVAX Facility, because the donating country as well as the vaccine manufacturer did not require immunity from liability and indemnification clauses in the donation agreement.
“(With the COVAX donations) our hurdle was the legal requirement of the manufacturer that we must have an indemnification clause and immunity from liability,” she said.
“We discussed this with the government of this (donating) country and they agreed that we are not going to have this, and was also able to convince the manufacturer to agree. So the clauses were adjusted and, therefore, we will be able to proceed with it,” added Vergeire.
President Marcos Jr opted not to extend the declaration of a state of calamity beyond 2022.
The declaration carried the conditions on immunity from liability and the indemnification clauses that are usually required by vaccine manufacturers. — Gerard Naval
