Colorado Senator Martín Arévalo analyzes the possibility of proposing the repeal of a law approved last year that allowed the purchase of COVID vaccines from international pharmaceutical companies and that establishes confidential agreements. It is presumed that in the contracts made the goods of the Paraguayan State were disposed of.
In a conversation with Universo 970 – Nación Media, Senator Martín Arévalo explained that he is currently awaiting a legal opinion on the scope of the vaccine purchase law and how the Paraguayan government proceeded in the agreements with international pharmaceutical companies for the provision of doses. anticovid.
This position arises from the alleged delivery of international reserves and assets of the Paraguayan State that is suspected of having been made in the negotiations. It is worth remembering that the current Law applies confidentiality for the acquisition of vaccines, so Public Health keeps all agreements with pharmaceutical companies under lock and key.
Arévalo maintained that he requested the legal opinion to corroborate if external articles were included in the law to dispose of state assets for the purchase of vaccines. And he also announced that he will ask for the confidentiality clause.
He argued that when he has the reports, he will analyze whether it is appropriate to propose the repeal of the vaccine law, arguing that there is currently no longer a bid for anticovid doses. “In the world there are plenty of vaccines and that they want to do it in secret and it is a big deal, I am not going to accompany that. The pandemic is at its culmination stage, and we cannot have such a law,” he said. “Right now, there is all the background to propose the repeal of the Law,” he added.
On the other hand, he was asked if it is appropriate for Salud not to reveal what the agreement was with the company La Policlínica for the provision of cold chain equipment to house and transport the doses against Covid-19, alleging that it is under confidentiality by the Vaccine law. “I heard Mr. Norman Harrison (president of La Policlínica) say several times that what they were doing was a kind of contribution to help the Paraguayan people. That he resigned, that they did not earn with these products, was a contribution from the company because they were good Paraguayans. But at this point, everything should be transparent. You cannot continue with this situation, ”he replied on the point.
THE DEMANDS OF PFIZER IN ITS NEGOTIATIONS IN LATIN AMERICA
A research at the regional level, led by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and the collaboration of OjoPúblicoexposed last year what were the demands of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer to Latin American countries (Argentina, Peru, Brazil, etc.).
An Argentine government official revealed that Pfizer requested to put international reserves, sovereign assets, embassies, military bases, among others, as collateral. This to cover possible future legal costs.
Pfizer also sought additional indemnity from civil lawsuits, meaning the company would not be liable for rare adverse events caused by its vaccine, or for its own acts of negligence, fraud or malice. This includes those related to company practices, such as whether the firm shipped the wrong vaccine or made errors during manufacturing.
In Brazil, he requested that they grant him indemnity and asked the ministry to put sovereign assets as collateral, in addition to creating a guarantee fund with money deposited in a bank account abroad.
It is likely that the same has been required in Paraguay and that the authorities have accepted the demands of the pharmaceutical company that provided the anticovid vaccines.
