Duterte signs law speeding up vaccine procurement

President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law the Vaccination Program Act of 2021, which expedites the country's COVID-19 vaccination program.

The new law allows the Department of Health and the National Task Force Against COVID-19 to directly negotiate vaccine procurement, bypassing usual bidding processes.

Senator Joel Villanueva expressed confidence that the law will help address the lack of vaccines and make the country competitive in the global vaccine race.

A P500 million indemnity fund is established for individuals experiencing adverse effects from vaccination, and is also a requirement by some vaccine makers before supplying the country.

Villanueva urged the executive department to use the law to shore up the country's vaccine inventory, concerned that planned purchases might not be enough to vaccinate the population.

On February 28, the country is set to receive 600,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines, with 100,000 allocated to the Philippine military.