Palace spokesperson Harry Roque said Sunday that the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine will only cost around P650 per dose.
“Ang aking i-a-assure po sa inyo, fake news po ‘yung kumakalat na P3,600 daw ang singil ng China. Ang ating presyo, bagamat hindi pa maaaring ianunsyo kung ano po talaga ang presyo ng Sinovac, ay hindi po nagkakalayo o hindi po lalayo sa presyo ng Indonesia na sa bandang P650 kada turok,” he said in an interview on DZBB.
(What I will assure you is reports that China sells the vaccines at P3,600 is fake news. We cannot announce the exact price but it is not far from the price in Indonesia that is around P650 per dose.)
He added that the cost of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine depends on which country would purchase it.
“Ang presyo kasi ng Tsina, hindi gaya ng ibang kompanya na kapitalista na market dictated. Ang presyo ng Tsina puwede nilang baguhin. Wala silang pakialam, depende kung sino ang bibili,” he said.
(The price of Chinese vaccines is not like in other capitalist companies that are dictated by the market. China can change the price of its vaccines. They don’t care. It depends on which country buys the vaccine.)
The office of Senator Sonny Angara, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, earlier shared that the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine costs P3,629 for two doses.
Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine only costs P650 per dose – Roque
The senator later clarifies that the price information came from the Department of Health during budget hearings in 2020.
Meanwhile, Roque also defended the government’s deal with the Chinese firm to buy 25 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines.
“Doon sa Brazil, napatunayan na doon sa 50 percent na posibleng magka-COVID, 78 percent mild asymptomatic na hindi na kinakailangan magpatingin sa doktor, at 100 percent walang naoospital. Hindi ba napakaganda rin noon? Bakit natin tatanggihan ‘yan?” Roque said.
“Bakit tayo mag-aantay sa isa na darating pa sa end of the year? Kung nakakahawa na ‘yung normal variant, mas nakakahawa na ngayon. Bakit naman tayo magsusugal sa ating kalusugan samantalang nandiyan na ang proteksiyon?” he added.
(Why would we wait for a vaccine that will only arrive by the end of the year? If the normal variant is infectious, the new variant is more infectious. Why would we risk the health of the people when we can already give them protection?)