Senator Risa Hontiveros said Wednesday that the government should buy a COVID-19 vaccine based on science rather than political favors.
She made the remark after Malacanang insisted that the “target remains that Sinovac will be the first that we can use to vaccinate our people and it will be in the first quarter of next year.”
Earlier, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez said that the country is set to sign a COVID-19 vaccine deal with Chinese manufacturer Sinovac by the first quarter of 2021 for 25 million doses.
“There are multiple and undeniable issues surrounding the vaccine offered by China, including transparency of data and results, emerging side effects as seen in Peru, and even a company history of bribery,” Hontiveros said in a statement.
“This is enough reason to worry. If we want people to trust the government’s decisions and to trust vaccination, we need to earn it. There should be no compromises. Follow the protocol,” she added.
Hontiveros noted that Sinovac’s CoronaVac is one of the most expensive vaccines available at around P3,600.
“So if it hasn’t been proven to be safe, and it isn’t even cheap, what is the basis for our preference for this vaccine?” Hontiveros said.
“Hindi tayo dapat basta-basta bibili ng bakuna. Do not sacrifice Filipinos’ health on the altar of the President’s bias towards China, which has continuously denied the Hague ruling and abused our waters,” she added.
Meanwhile, Malacañang explained Tuesday why the government opted to buy China-made CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine over other candidate vaccines, saying other manufacturers have not committed supplies to the Philippines.
PH chooses China’s COVID-19 vaccine
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque stressed out that there is a global competition on early access for COVID-19 vaccines.
“As of now, the market is really demand-driven, and we will get what we can procure. We have no favorites,” Roque said at a press briefing.
He said China has committed to supply CoronaVac to the Philippines. He added other vaccine manufacturers like Pfizer, AstraZeneca or Moderna has not made a similar commitment.
“The reason we are purchasing [CoronaVac] is we cannot immediately get Pfizer, AstraZeneca, or Moderna,” he said.
Roque said the government plans to purchase Pfizer vaccine. However, this could arrive in the second and third quarter of 2021, and “It’s not acceptable to the President to wait that long.”
