Santo Domingo, RD.
The Dominican Republic should have received today the first shipment of Covid-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca, according to the contract signed with the British pharmaceutical company.
Today, March 21, the pharmaceutical company had to deliver 400,000 doses of its vaccine, developed together with the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom, according to the contract signed with the Dominican state.
The basic idea of the contract signed with the pharmaceutical company was to guarantee a continuous monthly supply of the vaccine, allowing the arrival of 2.7 million doses of vaccine in the first half of the year.
The Dominican Republic has signed a contract with AstraZeneca to obtain 10 million doses of vaccine, at a cost of 40 million dollars, this being the cheapest of the vaccination agreements signed by the country.
The agreement was signed at the National Palace on October 30, after a negotiation process led by the Vice President of the Republic, Raquel Peña, given a special power granted by Luis Abinader, the President of the nation.
The pharmaceutical company has faced global problems in complying with its vaccine dosing agreements, even leading to the bankruptcy of its relations with the European Union, which has not received the number of doses agreed in contracts similar to the one signed by the Republic. Dominican.
On March 13, the Anglo-Swedish laboratory warned of further delays in the delivery of its coronavirus vaccine to the European Union (EU), according to a statement from the AFP news agency.
The pharmaceutical company’s motives were “production problems and export restrictions”.
The group has decided to turn to its production centers outside the European Union for supply to the bloc, but “unfortunately, export restrictions will reduce deliveries in the first quarter” and “likely” in the second, according to a spokesman for the pharmacist.
AstraZeneca began distributing its vaccines to the EU in February, and its goal was to deliver 100 million doses in the first half of 2021 (30 million in the first quarter, 70 in the second), according to a news cable from the aforementioned agency. .
The vaccine delivery program undertaken by AstraZeneca indicates that today, March 21, 400,000 doses of vaccine should have been received. The second dose is due to take place just one month later, on April 21, but this time for 800,000 doses.
On May 21, the Dominican state should receive another shipment for 800,000 doses, and on June 21 the next another 700,000 vaccinations.
The vaccine delivery schedule follows next July 21, with the agreement for the arrival of an even larger quantity: 1.9 million doses; and by mid-August the highest figure in the entire contract: 3.9 million inoculations
The delivery of the 10 million doses will culminate, at least as contracted, with 1.4 million doses in September 2021.
The country has so far received a shipment of 20,000 doses of Covishield vaccine, which is manufactured in India with the same AstraZeneca formula. That was on February 15th. Four days later, on the 19th, a shipment of another 30,000 doses of the same vaccine arrived in the country, but it was donated by the Indian government.
With these doses, the country has started its national vaccination plan, called “VacúnateRD”. 768,000 doses of Sinovac vaccine arrived from China, purchased by the Dominican state at a cost of $ 20 per dose. That was Tuesday, February 23rd.
On Wednesday, March 17, another shipment of 1 million vaccines arrived from Sinovac, China. The Asian giant donated 50,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine and 51,200 syringes.
A contract has been signed with the American pharmaceutical company Pfizer for the purchase of 7,999,875 doses of vaccine to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The purchase of vaccines had a total cost of $ 95,998,500.
The specification signed by the Dominican state indicates that Pfizer deliveries will be in batches every three months, starting in the second quarter of this year (April to June), according to the provisional delivery schedule.
But it also stipulates that it will not be responsible for administering doses in accordance with the estimated delivery dates set out in the agreement and that the Ministry of Public Health will not be entitled to cancel orders for any quantity of vaccines.
Like the AstraZeneca doses, the government has repeatedly announced the latest on March 17, with the arrival of 1.5 million doses in China, that there is no date for the arrival of vaccines. From Pfizer.
AstraZeneca contract details
The agreement with the pharmaceutical company stipulates that thirty days in advance must be granted when the vaccines are available, as well as the exact quantity that would be delivered.
They would be exported from the distribution center in Mexico, and when they are imported, the vaccines will become the responsibility of the Dominican government, which will also have to take responsibility for their useful life, without the possibility of return. if they exceed the expiry date.
Each dose will cost about $ 4 (about 232 Dominican pesos), although this price could increase by 20 percent. If this happens, then the state will take over the additional cost. In any case, the agreement stipulates that in no case will the price per dose exceed 6 USD (RD 349 USD).
The contract also contains the structure of the total payment for vaccines, which amounts to $ 40 million (more than 2,300 million pesos), in which three different payments will be made, when specific situations are met.
The first will be equal to 20 percent of the total agreed, or $ 8 million (approximately $ 464,612,690). Then it will become one of the equivalent of 40% (RD $ 929,225,381) when the AstraZeneca vaccine is approved by one of these health agencies: the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Drug and Drug Administration the British Medicines Agency (EMA) or by the Dominican health authorities.
