Two US pharmaceutical firms are willing to supply COVID-19 vaccines inquirer.net - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from inquirer.net Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Published December 17, 2020 2:41am The failure of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III cost the Philippines a delivery of 10 million coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines from Pfizer by January 2021, according to Sen. Panfilo Lacson. Lacson said he talked to Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez, who arranged the meeting between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. in which they discussed the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines. Thus, they could have secured the delivery of 10 million Pfizer vaccines as early as January next year, way ahead of Singapore but for the indifference of Sec Duque who failed to work on the necessary documentary requirement namely, the Confidentiality Disclosure Agreement (CDA) as he should have done, the senator said in a statement.
Duterte Saw No Major Lapse In Vaccine Negotiations With Pfizer pageone.ph - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from pageone.ph Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Published on: Thursday, December 17, 2020
By: GMA News
MANILA: Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr.
(pic) on Wednesday refused to name who dropped the ball on the supposed delivery to the Philippines of 10 million doses of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine this coming January.
Locsin was present during the Commission on Appointments’ deliberation on the nomination and ad interim appointment of three Foreign Affairs officials when Senator Panfilo Lacson asked him: “Who dropped the ball?”
In a Twitter post on Tuesday, Locsin said somebody committed a mistake which apparently affected the shipping of Pfizer vaccines to the country.
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“I think it’s enough that I really lost my temper because [Ambassador to US] Babe [Romualdez] and I worked really hard and we don’t like to see our efforts wasted but never mind, I don’t want to lose my temper on Zoom,” Locsin said, responding to Lacson’s query.
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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 17) Amid allegations Health Secretary Francisco Duque dropped the ball in the country s vaccine deal with US drugmaker Pfizer, Malacañang says President Rodrigo Duterte does not see any huge mistake on the official s end, but has advised him to address the issue once and for all. I think, from the overall demeanor of the President, wala naman po siyang nakikitang major lapse dahil ang pinag-uusapan po ay kontrata at hindi naman po abogado si Secretary Duque, said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque during his regular briefing.
[Translation: I think, from the overall demeanor of the President, he doesn t see any major lapse because the thing in question here is a contract and Secretary Duque is not a lawyer to begin with.]