Recto urges gov't to allow LGUs, private sector to buy COVID-19 vaccines

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto filed a resolution urging the national government to permit local government units (LGUs) and the private sector to procure their own COVID-19 vaccines.

Recto believes that allowing LGUs and the private sector to directly purchase vaccines from manufacturers will speed up the Philippines' recovery from the pandemic.

He argued that this decentralization of vaccine procurement would help prevent the further spread of the disease and accelerate economic reopening, leading to job restoration and creation.

Any vaccines procured by LGUs and the private sector must have already received emergency use authorization (EUA) from the FDA.

These entities will still be required to adhere to the documentary, procedural, and reportorial obligations set by the Department of Health, FDA, and other relevant national agencies.

The Philippines has already approved the emergency use of Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine, with applications pending for Sinovac, AstraZeneca, and Sputnik V.

The government aims to procure 148 million doses this year to inoculate at least 50 million Filipinos.