WHILE other countries have long started their vaccination roll-out, here COVID-19 vaccines have just arrived. It is thus most welcome that the House of Representatives approved on third reading proposed Emergency Vaccine Procurement Act of 2021 which expedites the purchase and administration of COVID-19 vaccines by providing exemptions to comply with the requirements set under Republic Act No. 9184 or the Government Procurement Act.
The approval of House Bill No. 8648, co-authored by Antique’s Rep. Loren Legarda, will help fast track the acquisition of vaccines and ensure early access to viable vaccine supply.
The procurement law that we have is one of the reasons for the delay in acquisition; there are certain requirements that needed to be complied with before vaccine purchase and administration can go through. The House measure allows expediting the procurement process of vaccines by giving exemption to the national government agencies from complying with requirements set under RA 9184.
House Bill 8648 gives the Department of Health (DOH) and the National Task Force on Against COVID-19 the management prerogative to procure COVID-19 vaccines and associated supplies and services for the storage, transport and deployment of vaccines through negotiated procurement. The authority given also includes entering into a supply agreement, advance market commitment, research investment or purchase order as well as agreeing to advance payment of not more than 50 percent of the total contract price with tax exemptions for the procurement, importation, storage, transport, distribution, and administration of COVID-19 vaccines.
The LGUs will also be given the capacity to purchase or receive donations through a multiparty agreement with DOH, the NTF, and the vaccine manufacturer, as long as vaccines are registered with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with a valid certificate of product registration or emergency use authorization can be purchased.
Ah, but the national government and local government units must also give equal attention to other challenges faced by the country in terms of procurement and roll out of vaccines. While the government seeks to procure the best vaccine, with high efficacy rate, there is also a need to ensure that we have enough healthcare staff and vaccination centers for the efficient facilitation of the immunization program.
Also, we have to provide an equitable policy in prioritization of recipients and most importantly, we have to gain public’s confidence and lessen their vaccine hesitancy through comprehensive information dissemination.
Let us not prolong the agony of our people and help them have safer everyday life. We are in the midst of a pandemic and we cannot disregard the right of our people to have access to the COVID-19 vaccines that will not only save lives, but, will also save the country’s struggling economy.
