‘Magic wand’ trick from the President

All this time, businessman leader Jose “Joey” Concepcion exudes a persona of a public official in his capacity as presidential adviser on enterpreneurship. In his capacity as a “one-peso” consultant in the Office of the President, Concepcion has also been actively involve in the government’s campaign to control and stop the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic when it struck our country since a year ago now.

Thus, it was no surprise when fellow businessman-leader Henry Lim Bon Liong could not help but ask President Rodrigo Duterte to officially appoint Concepcion as the private sector representative in the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging and Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID). Lim, president of the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. (FFCCCII), publicly endorsed Concepcion amid growing public disappointments on the IATF’s seeming failure to stave off the resurgence of COVID-19 contagion.

Concepcion was visibly caught off-guard but evidently flattered by the unsolicited nomination. Both Concepcion and Lim were the featured guests in our Kapihan sa Manila Bay Zoom Webinar last week.

Initially, Concepcion undertook projects to help ramp up the government’s COVID-19 testing capacity starting with the rapid antigen tests and procurement of test kits. His latest project was in support of the saliva testing of the Philippine Red Cross that eventually got approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

In November last year, Concepcion steered a private sector-led procurement of anti-COVID vaccines. He, however, credited this initiative to Tessie Sy-Coson of the SM Group of Companies who referred to him the “zero profit” vaccine program of the AstraZeneca pharmaceutical company. This was after the FDA of United Kingdom (UK) and subsequently the World Health Organization (WHO) approved the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the anti-COVID vaccine of AstraZeneca.

Under Concepcion’s stewardship, he was able to work out a Tripartite Agreement between the national government headed by designated “vaccine czar” Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. along with the private sector and with AstraZeneca as initial pharma partner. Under this is a “zero-profit” vaccine supply deal at $5 per vial, Concepcion clarified anew, with AstraZeneca requiring signatory companies to donate 50% of their order to the national government and the other half to be used for free – not sold – to their respective employees.

In his current vaccine supply negotiations with Novavax and Bharat of India, Concepcion cited, there is no required donation but an indemnity clause is imposed by these vaccine makers like what AstraZeneca did. Concepcion pointed out that this arrangement, in fact, favors the private sector in the Tripartite Agreement because the national government assumes the liability. This is to indemnify vaccinees for any adverse events after inoculation because all anti-COVID vaccines are still under phase 3 clinical trials.

The FFCCCII was among the signatories to this Tripartite Agreement that would bring in here 2.7 million doses of AstraZeneca. According to Concepcion, the FFCCCII ordered 80,000 doses which along with the rest of other pre-orders will be delivered in batches starting July this year.

In addition, Lim disclosed, the FFCCCII have asked the IATF to allow them to directly import 500,000 doses of Sinovac’s Covaxin from China. It was after President Duterte announced in the IATF meeting last Monday night his order to Galvez to allow the private sector “to import at will” their respective choices of anti-COVID vaccines. The direct importation of anti-COVID vaccines though must still follow the same procedures in the Tripartite Agreement that Galvez vowed to expedite.

Originally, Lim disclosed, the FFCCCII is ready to procure one million doses from Sinovac. However, their order got reduced due to supply shortage problems in China which donated to the Philippines one million doses from Sinovac as well as to other low income countries. To facilitate the FFCCCII Sinovac procurement, Concepcion advised Lim “to just mirror” their Tripartite Agreement. Two days after Lim announced this at Kapihan sa Manila Bay, the IATF approved the FFCCCII request to import from Sinovac.

Also, Binondo Chinatown media reported our FDA is set to allow inoculation of Sinovac to senior citizens instead of just limiting it among the 15 to 59 years old only.

Meanwhile, Concepcion reassured the signatories in this Tripartite Agreement they will not be affected by the export ban against AstraZeneca imposed in the European Union (EU) countries. This is because, he explained, the doses being procured are being manufactured in Thailand.

President Duterte expressed fears last week on what he termed as “the ruckus” over vaccine nationalism policy in the EU countries as well as in the United States. This, he rued, further delays our own procurement of anti-COVID vaccines.

On Good Friday, our country hit its latest record high 15,310 COVID cases after breaching 10,000 daily last week. The escalation of local transmissions is being traced to the more infectious foreign COVID-19 variants from the UK, South Africa and Brazil.

But administration critics blame the IATF as being slow in rolling out the vaccination while the COVID-19 cases are rising quicker. With 15 months left of President Duterte’s term, the hard lockdown in Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal was extended for another week. Concepcion and Lim grudgingly conceded that they in the private business sector could only absorb one week of extension, not for one month.

Both of them frowned though at calls to revamp the IATF in the last stretch of this administration. The expanded IATF – co-chaired by Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Franscisco Duque III and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles – has no private sector representatives though.

The President earlier wished he has a “magic wand” to end the COVID-19 pandemic. He just need to do a little tweak of IATF by adding fresh minds from the private sector. It might do the trick.