The envoy shared insider details – without distracting braggadocio – of how he and Foreign Secretary Teddy Locsin Jr. sought the help of US State Secretary Mike Pompeo in securing Pfizer vaccines. Romualdez said he may be partly to blame for the “dropping of the ball” by an unnamed official who failed to work out the early signing of the Confidentiality Disclosure Agreement that should accompany the purchase order for 10 million doses of Pfizer vaccine. Pfizer (at P2,379 for two doses) is cheaper than Sinovac although more expensive than AstraZeneca, but it may have lost traction when its January delivery was pushed back after Duque sat on its CDA papers. Galvez said the country did not miss out on securing vaccines. He expressed optimism that a deal would be sealed with Pfizer this month or the first week of January next year.

Source: Philippine Star December 21, 2020 15:56 UTC