IN lieu of enacting an indemnification law covering adverse reactions to the Covid-19 vaccine to satisfy the requirement of pharmaceutical firms, the Philippine government can simply insert a “free and harmless” clause in pending supply agreements in order to guarantee it will bear the liability for such events.
This was suggested on Sunday by Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon, amid concerns that one reason holding up the finalization of vaccine supply agreements is the absence of an indemnification law to shield pharmaceutical companies who have been forced by the Covid crisis to roll out their vaccines under emergency use authorization (EUA)—meaning full clinical trials have yet to be completed.
Drilon made the suggestion in a radio interview, days after senators were surprised in a hearing by revelations that the Philippines has yet to forge a single supply agreement with vaccine makers, and was holding on to “term sheets” that vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. insisted was a firm “locked-in” arrangement.
On Sunday, however, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III noted the recent confirmation that the Philippines will receive doses of the Covid-19 vaccine from the Covax Facility, adding that the Philippine government has completed the first set of requirements set by Covax.
Drilon, in the radio interview, asserted that most important at this time is “we need a commitment that vaccines will be arriving, “ admitting that senators were “surprised (at the last Finance committee hearing) that we have no supply agreement yet.”
Drilon noted the pharmaceuticals’ demand for an indemnification clause is understandable, considering that they have been forced to roll out their vaccines even though they do not have yet a full commercial license.
Congress is completely amenable for the government to shoulder the liability for adverse reactions since all vaccines now are just covered by an EUA.
Drilon, a former Justice Secretary, however, stressed that inserting a free and harmless clause in supply agreements, where the national government makes clear that manufacturers won’t be liable for adverse reactions, should suffice.
“I repeat, technically an indemnification law is not needed,” to get the supply agreement going, he added.
Once the mass vaccination rolls out, the senator suggested that preference be given to health workers and “vulnerable senior citizens, followed by 4Ps recipients, and people involved in the economic sector.”
But, he stressed the need to first “fix assurance of delivery that it is arriving.” Still, he was “wondering why there was no supply agreements yet, beyond term sheets, just terms, “with no down payments and no commitments.”
Drilon noted that supply agreements can include provisions on so-called “free and harmless clause” which means if there is a case where manufacturers are liable, government assumes liability. “Pressed if such is akin to a sovereign guarantee for loan agreements, Drilon agreed, saying it’s like a “sovereign guarantee versus legal action.”
No delivery dates
The Philippine government has completed the first set of requirements set by Covax Facility but no “indicative delivery dates” have been provided by any of the manufacturers that the country is in talks with either, National Task Force Against Covid-19 chief implementer and vaccine czar Secretary Carlito G. Galvez Jr. said on Sunday.
Galvez made the statement following recent allegations of snail-paced negotiations between the Philippine government and vaccine manufacturers. He said that supply agreement negotiations are ongoing and that the current limited global supply prevents vaccine manufacturers from entering supply agreements with the government.
“The entire vaccine cluster, with our Vaccine Czar Sec. Charlie Galvez at the helm, is doing everything to secure cost-effective vaccines for the Philippines at the soonest possible time. In the meantime, with the arrival of vaccines from the Covax Facility just around the corner, our attention and efforts are focused towards ensuring the country’s readiness to roll out the vaccines,” Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III said.
Galvez emphasized that a supply agreement is a binding contract and that negotiating supply agreements is a complicated process which provides for specific details such as payment schemes and definite delivery dates, among others.
He further noted that due to the binding nature of supply agreements, and given the limited supply of vaccines globally, manufacturers have not been able to commit specific delivery dates, hence preventing them from entering into supply agreements with the national government.
Meanwhile, with the recent confirmation that the Philippines will receive doses of the Covid-19 vaccine from the Covax Facility, the Philippine government has completed the first set of requirements set by Covax which includes documents pertaining to the country’s readiness to receive vaccines, as well as the deployment plan.
The government is now awaiting other documentary requirements which have yet to be provided by the Covax Facility.
As the entire government prepares for the Covid-19 vaccination, Duque has called on the cooperation of the Filipinos in addressing the “persistent issue of vaccine hesitancy—we want everyone to be assured that vaccines are safe and effective.”
“I further call on the public to continue strict and proper adherence to our Minimum Public Health Standards. Yes, vaccines will afford us a certain degree of protection, but we emphasize that prevention remains to be the best strategy to combat Covid-19,” Duque concluded
The Covid cases in the country surged to 549,176 after recording 1,928 additional cases.
Read full article on BusinessMirror
