During her presentation to the COVID-19 Special Commission of Congress, Health Minister Mazzetti argued that the State is advising with expert organizations on international negotiations for the signing of a final agreement.
The Minister of Health, Pilar Mazzetti, indicated that the contract with the Pfizer laboratory for the purchase of the coronavirus vaccine (COVID-19) is delayed because there are “details” in which there is no consensus. It stated that these had to do with prices and the delivery schedule, however, he said that he could not give more information because there must be confidentiality.
During his presentation to the COVID-19 Special Commission of the Congress, Mazzetti argued that the State is advising with expert organizations on international negotiations for the signing of a final agreement. He stressed that while obtaining the vaccine is a priority, it cannot be purchased at any cost.
Mazzetti also assured that the agreement will include security clauses establishing neutral international tribunals that resolve potential disputes or breaches by any of the actors.
“With Pfizer there are some details in which there is no agreement. There are aspects I can’t comment on in detail. This has to do with prices and delivery schedule, but there is confidentiality about it. When a dispute is resolved in court, it is established that there must be a resarsal that may involve our reservations. In all the agreements, we consider that there are aspects of our sovereignty that the country has to caution, which serves the next generations,” he said.
Negotiations with 20 different laboratories
“Rest assured that the negotiation continues, we hope that the dispute will be resolved to sign and be able to report on when the vaccine might arrive. The final version of the contract with Pfizer arrived on November 24 and had to be signed on November 30. However, clauses requiring deeper analysis were identified to determine compatibility with Peruvian laws and the scopes that the state can assume,” he added.
In this line, the holder of Minsa, asserted that Peru has so far been in negotiations with 20 different laboratories and that non-binding agreements have been signed with 11 of them, in addition to that signed with the Covax Facility cooperative. However, he asserted that there was only one final agreement with this cooperative.
“We are waiting for Sinopharm and Astrazeneca’s response to the proposal we have sent, with Pfizer we have some difficulties in the latest version of the contract, we have counterproposed. The multisectoral commission recommends signing contracts with Pfizer, Sinopharm, Covax and AstraZeneca, as we have the best information,” he said.
It asserted that the working group for the acquisition of the vaccine had the participation of other sectors and specialized entities that collect information from vaccine studies around the world, in order to choose the best options for the country.
