Gov’t Funds Enough For Herd Immunity, But…

There are sufficient funds to purchase jabs for Filipinos to achieve herd immunity, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said during a hearing of the Senate Committee of the Whole on Tuesday, June 15.

The Senate Committee of the Whole reconvened to look into how the Duterte administration has been spending P82.5 billion allocated by Congress last year to procure COVID-19 vaccines, as the government is asking P25 billion more for the jabs.

In March, Dominguez said the government has a total of P82.5-billion budget for the vaccines – P2.5 billion of which came from the budget of the Department of Health (DOH), P10 billion from Republic Act No. 11494 or the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2), P58.4 billion from foreign loans, and P11.6 billion as additional official development assistance or ODA.

During the hearing on Tuesday, the total vaccine budget for this year was pegged at  P88.6 billion. Of the P88.6-billion funding, P2.5 billion form part of the budget of the Department of Health under the 2021 General Appropriations Act (GAA). Meanwhile, the P10 billion are funds under Republic Act No. 11494 or the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2). The remaining P3.26 billion comes from other sources in the 2021 GAA and the Bayanihan 2.

Around P57.3 billion are sourced through concessional loans from  multilateral partners, such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Up to P12.7 billion will come from other financing sources as may be necessary while the P2.8 billion are from the contingency funds.

 From the loans alone, the government has so far contracted a total of 33.5 million doses that could inoculate close to 17 million Filipinos, Dominguez said.

To ensure a more stable supply, a portfolio of six vaccine brands are being negotiated or has been negotiated with the manufacturers Pfizer, Novavax, Moderna, Sinovac, Johnson & Johnson and Sputnik V.

Dominguez  assured the Senate Committee of the Whole – where all senators are members – that the government’s use of the budget allocated by Congress to procure vaccines remains transparent.

If the scheduled deliveries arrive on time, the country would have as much as 204 million COVID-19 vaccine doses by the end of the year, including some 68 million free or donated doses from the private sector, local government units (LGUs), and World Health Organization-run COVAX Facility, Dominguez and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. told the Senate.

“The government is assured of at least 149.83 million doses of vaccines through binding term sheets and supply agreements backed by our foreign loans, our regular budget, and donations from other countries and the COVAX Facility,” Dominguez told the senators.

Out of this number, more than 12.7 million has so far been delivered to the country, he said.

Officials said 50 million to 70 million Filipinos must be vaccinated so the country would achieve herd immunity.

There was a brief debate between Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon and Dominguez over the latter’s refusal to disclose the prices per dose of each vaccine brand.

Dominguez stressed the non-disclosure agreements signed with vaccine manufacturers prevent them from publicly disclosing the prices, adding the makers refuse to start negotiations for procurement unless the NDAs are signed.

He, however, said he was willing to disclose the prices – which range from $6.75 to $27.59 per dose – in an executive session.

Dominguez noted the average cost of the vaccines, including the ones donated from the World Health Organization-run COVAX Facility would be P398 per dose. Excluding the donated serums, the average cost would be P566 per dose.

For vaccines paid directly from GAA, the average cost would be P543 per dose while injections funded by loans would have an average price of P515 per dose, he said. The average logistical cost would be P48 per dose, he added.

Senators did not directly accuse officials of wrongdoing in spending the vaccine budget but stressed there are enough funds to achieve herd immunity, and the need to disclose more details of the supply agreements starting with the prices of the injections.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson pointed out the government has more than enough funds to achieve herd immunity at least for this year.

Lacson explained that to vaccinate more than 50 million Filipinos, the government would need P52.343 billion to procure 117,361,601 target doses at P446 (P398 plus P48) per dose, including logistical costs.

“We have already secured P57.3 billion through borrowings, so we have a surplus of P5 billion for herd immunity,” Lacson said.

Lacson underscored the P20 billion to P25 billion being sought for the inoculation of Filipinos aged 12 to 15 will be for 2022.

“So you don’t need any money for achieving herd immunity at least in 2021,” he said.

“So money is not the problem here. We just need to focus more on procuring the vaccines and rolling them out,” he said.

The special panel, chaired by Senate President Vicente Sotto III, agreed, saying: “The bottom line is the rollout.”

P85 billion more needed

According to Dominguez, the country needs some P85 billion next year to fund the inoculation of children aged 12 and above, and to purchase booster shots for 85 Filipino adults.

“There is a second horizon we have to look at. We might need an allocation of about P25 billion to cover the inoculation of children aged 12 years old and above. Pending confirmation of our health authorities, we are preparing for the purchase of booster shots of one dose for roughly 85 million adults and teenagers. This could cost roughly P60 billion,” the finance chief told the committee, as he asked that proposed allocations be included in the 2022 national budget.

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said there might be a need for the government to start prepaying for the vaccine batches for teenagers and for the booster shots to ensure continuity in the immunization program.

Sen. Joel Villanueva proposed developing contingency plans in the near term for price fluctuations of vaccines amid a report that some vaccine manufacturers intend to hike their prices. “It’s important to have the foresight to prepare our budget,” Villanueva said.

For Sen. Imee Marcos, vaccine hesitancy is the problem, not the budget.

“We have the money for vaccines. But vaccination hesitancy remains a challenge and may lead to a greater wastage of vaccines and government funds than the incidence of poor cold storage. Without herd immunity, economic recovery will be choppy,” Marcos said. – With Cecille Suerte Felipe