ASEAN HEADLINES: MANILA HEADLINE- Varying prices of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine raise alarm

January 18, 2021January 18, 2021 Contributor 0 Comment ASEAN HEADLINES:, ASEAN HEADLINES: MANILA HEADLINE- Varying prices of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine raise alarm

HEADLINE- Varying prices of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine raise alarm

A medical worker takes a box of Sinovac’s vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from a refrigerator at a community health centre in Qingdao, Shandong province, China January 5, 2021. Picture taken January 5, 2021. China Daily via REUTERS

MANILA, Philippines — Sharp differences in the prices of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine in the Philippines and neighboring countries smack of corruption, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said on Sunday.

CoronaVac, the vaccine developed by the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech, costs as little as $5 per dose, or about P240, in other Southeast Asian countries, but may be priced at $38, or more than P1,800, in the Philippines, Lacson said.

“The difference in prices of Sinovac vaccine at $5, $14 and $38 reminds me of an old story about how corruption is committed in three Southeast Asian countries—UNDER the table, ON the table, and INCLUDING the table,” he said in a post on Twitter.

“Here, it may cost $38.50 (P1,847.25) per dose but is covered by a confidentiality disclosure agreement,” he added.

Lacson cited a report in the Bangkok Post on Saturday saying the price of CoronaVac in Thailand was $5 per dose, based on figures from the World Health Organization and from the manufacturer. But a report in India Today on Tuesday said the price of CoronaVac in India was $14, or about P673, per dose.

READ MORE: https://aseanews.net/2021/01/18/headline-manila-varying-prices-of-sinovac-covid-19-vaccine-raise-alarm/