Pressure mounts on gov’t to complete vaccine deals. Inquirer Newsletter. February 15, 2021.

No images? Click here   CLOSE TO EPICENTER A landslide, triggered by the 7.3-magnitude earthquake that struck Japan close to midnight on Saturday, blocks the Joban Expressway in Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, the area closest to the epicenter. More than 100 people were injured, but there were no reported deaths. —REUTERS       World Another strong quake rocks Fukushima IWAKI, Japan—The stench of alcohol filled the small bar on Sunday as Aoi Hoshino swept up glass from whiskey bottles smashed in a strong earthquake the night before, one appearing to be an aftershock from a devastating quake that hit the Fukushima area in 2011. —STORY BY REUTERS Read more: philippinedailyinquirerplus.pressreader.com   Board Talk Going green is also about going blue Going green is important. That is why we plant trees in the mountains, and are conscious of our greenhouse gas emissions. But did you know that oceans are important in saving our planet? More than 70 percent of the world is covered by oceans. —STORY BY Maria Theresa Marcial Read more: business.inquirer.net   Newsletter / Join us Has this been forwarded by a friend? Subscribe now to the Philippine Daily Inquirer Newsletter and get your latest news and important updates on COVID-19. Subscribe     Join Us   Banner Story Pressure mounts on gov’t to complete vaccine deals By DJ Yap More senators on Sunday expressed impatience with the sluggish pace of the government’s negotiations with drug manufacturers for coronavirus vaccines, exerting pressure on the vaccination managers to finish supply agreements following last week’s disclosure that not even one had been signed.Sen. Francis Pangilinan said the country was left with no choice but to rely on the pledge of Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., the chief implementer of the COVID-19 task force and head of the national vaccination program, that the arrival of the vaccines was only weeks away. It was also Galvez who admitted during a Senate hearing on Thursday that while the Philippines had “secured” 108 million doses of the vaccine in talks with various pharmaceutical companies, no firm agreement had been sealed between the parties, except a nonbinding “term sheet.” Falling behind Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, who was also present at the hearing, confirmed the information, saying no vaccine deals had been signed, but the country would get 600,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccines donated by China and 117,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine from COVAX. The Sinovac vaccines would arrive on Feb. 23, while the Pfizer vaccines, which had been expected to arrive Feb. 15, would now be delayed due to some paperwork. Galvez’s admission drew alarm among senators who worried that the Philippines would be left far behind, while its neighbors Singapore and Indonesia started inoculating their citizens last month. “It is a cause for concern and we are at this point placing our trust [in] the assurances of Secretary Galvez that the [global vaccine sharing scheme COVAX] and the negotiations with other vaccine entities will see the first deliveries and the beginning of the rollout before the end of the month of February,” Pangilinan told the Inquirer in a Viber message. “For the sake of our nation’s immediate economic recovery, we can only pray that he will be good with his word,” he said. --INQ Read more: newsinfo.inquirer.net   Editorial Spiking prices and food security Inflation spiked last January to its highest in two years, catching government and private sector economists by surprise. Not only was the rate of increase in prices of basic commodities the highest since January 2019’s 4.4 percent, it also breached the government’s target range of 2-4 percent for 2021.  Read full story: opinion.inquirer.net   Copyright © 2020 PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: P.O. Box 2353, Makati Central Post Office, 1263 Makati City, Philippines.   Share    Tweet    Share    Forward  Preferences  |  Unsubscribe