The Department of Health (DOH) yesterday announced the decentralization of the procurement of the investigational drugs used to treat coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
In a virtual press briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire disclosed that they have issued Administrative Order (AO) No. 2021-0053, which allows health facilities and local government units (LGUs) to acquire such treatment methods.
“It is a general prescription, wherein all investigational drugs used to treat COVID-19 that are given emergency use authorization (EUA), may be procured by hospitals and LGUs,” said Vergeire.
“It will no longer be necessary for the DOH to procure them and allocate to different hospitals. This will hasten the availability of the said investigational drugs,” she added.
Vergeire noted how the said AO will help prevent seeing bottlenecks in the procurement process and provision of COVID-19 treatment drugs.
Under the AO, all public and private health facilities, and LGUs are being authorized to procure COVID-19 drugs with EUAs, through their respective purchasing department or procurement agent.
On the other hand, it said such COVID-19 drugs granted with EUA shall no longer need compassionate special permit (CSPs).
It also stated that such COVID-19 drugs under EUA may be procured using government funds or included in the PhilHealth financing mechanism.
But while procurement is being decentralized, the DOH stressed that the prescription, dispensing, and administration of the COVID-19 drugs must adhere to the DOH-approved guidelines and standards for safe and ethical sale, prescription, and use of medications under EUA.
The DOH also said that the direct selling to patients of such drugs is not allowed among health providers and health facilities with no valid license to operate as a retailer from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The government has administered 69.71 million doses of vaccines nationwide, with 40. 93 percent of the targeted population, fully vaccinated, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said.
Roque said as of November 14, some 31.57 million people have already completed their vaccine doses while 38.14 million people, or 49.45 percent of the targeted population, have received their first dose.
He said in Metro Manila, 18.969 million doses of vaccines have been administered with 9.005 million or 92.12 percent of the population fully vaccinated. — With Jocelyn Montemayor
