Galvez: No bus missed, no ball dropped in COVID-19 vaccine talks

MANILA, Philippines — COVID-19 policy chief implementer and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. finally addressed on Friday the alleged fallout in the prompt acquisition of US drugmaker Pfizer’s vaccine, saying that neither a bus was missed nor the ball was dropped in the negotiations.

Earlier this week, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. tweeted that he and Philippine Ambassador to US Jose Manuel Romualdez were able to secure millions of doses of Pfizer vaccines, which were supposed to arrive in the country by January 2021.

However, the country’s top diplomat claimed that the plans were foiled after “someone dropped the ball.” He did not identify who he was referring to.

But Senator Panfilo Lacson said it was Health Secretary Francisco Duque III who allegedly botched the deal that would have allowed the country to secure the Pfizer vaccines early by failing to submit on time a confidentiality disclosure agreement that would have let the transaction push through.

READ: Lacson bares how Duque ‘dropped ball’ on Pfizer deal

Galvez said officials “cannot afford to engage in finger-pointing or buck-passing” at this crucial stage of the country’s fight against the pandemic.

He explained that the process of vaccine selection is based on “safety, efficacy, cost-effectiveness, the track record of the vaccine maker, complexity of handling and logistics, after-sales and life cycle services, production capacity and early delivery, and long-term commitment.”

“Let me reiterate, no ‘bus’ was missed or no ‘ball’ was dropped because we are focused on our main goal, and that is, to secure an equitable share of the vaccines,” Galvez said in a statement.

“In reality, negotiations on many occasions will reach stalemate and gridlock when legal challenges, public interest, and safety are at stake. The CDA or the Confidential Disclosure Agreement is just one of the many phases of the negotiations,”  he added.

The former military general then assured the public that the government is on track in the implementation of its vaccine plan, asserting that “there have been maybe some delays in our negotiations but still we were able to make up.”

He also assured that all transactions the government has entered into are done with “utmost transparency, sense of fairness, and accountability.”

As for concerns raised over the efficacy and safety of the vaccines being eyed by the government, Galvez said no deal will be finalized without the corresponding regulatory approval from the vaccines’ country of origin and Emergency Use Authorization from the Food and Drug Administration of the Philippines.

“The ball is being passed not because there are those who are abrogating responsibility but because we want it to reach the goal — to close deals and obtain vaccines for all Filipinos so that we can implement our national vaccination program at the most appropriate time,” Galvez said.

“These unfounded accusations and unnecessary noise that may derail us from pursuing our goal of securing safe and effective vaccines, we call on the entire Filipino people to unite and move forward,” he added.