By Sue-Ann Wayow
TRINIDAD and Tobago can pay for Covid-19 vaccines.
This was the declaration made by Finance Minister Colm Imbert at a virtual press conference on Monday.
He said, “We have enough money immediately to pay for any vaccines.”
The finance minister said the Ministry of Health has placed an order for 1.5 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine from China.
Imbert said the Government of Trinidad and Tobago will do whatever it takes to get vaccines for the people, even if it means borrowing money.
The minister gave details of a loan agreement with China which allows for the purchase of Sinopharm vaccines.
A loan which, he said, took a while to settle but both governments have now reached an agreement.
Imbert said, “This is something we have been negotiating with for over a year and it is simply budget support. The Chinese facility is just part of a portfolio of borrowing that we are engaged with.
“We borrow locally, we borrow internationally and we use different strategies and different mechanisms and it is quite an attractive facility.
“The loan is at 2%. It is €170 million, that is the currency they asked us to do it in. That’s about US$204 million. They have put a stipulation in.
“Of the US$204million, we must spend 15% on what they consider to be Chinese elements which was later defined as Chinese goods and services. They did indicate at the time that vaccines qualified being Chinese elements.”
Out of that agreement some US$25 million would be available for possible vaccines, he said.
Imbert said, “The government has done what is required to access more than sufficient funding for vaccines.”
Together with finances from the World Bank to fund vaccines from the COVAX facility, he said, “We have more than enough resources available through those facilities.”
He added, “We are very, very fortunate that the Sinopharm vaccine has received WHO (World Health Organization) approval. The Sinopharm vaccine has exactly the same level and quality of approval as Pfizer, as AstraZeneca as Johnson and Johnson and therefore now that approval has been granted to Sinopharm, we would access as many vaccines as we possibly can get practically and realistically from Sinopharm to vaccinate as many people as possible.”
Imbert said the purchase of 100,000 vaccines from the COVAX facility would be roughly under US$5 per shot totaling about US$500,000. The Sinopharm vaccines that are expected to arrive soon, the first 100,000 were free along with the vaccines from India.
He said, “But we do intend to order, in fact I think the Ministry of Health has put in its order already of 1.5million vaccines and whatever the cost within reason, we will find the money to pay for it.”
The cost of vaccine varied widely depending on type and which facility it was being distributed from with vaccines coming from the COVAX facility being reasonably priced, Imbert said.
He said some vaccines were being touted at US$23 per shot. The figure he received to date was US$15 per shot for the Sinopharm vaccine and he has asked for further negotiations to get a lower price.
“One point five million vaccines, $15million dollars, we will find that money and we will spend it,” Imbert said.
The minister added that the Government has done enough foreign borrowing and would now be looking to the local market.
