The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) will offer the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to the public at P3,500 for every two doses, Senator Richard Gordon said on Monday, May 17.

Gordon, chair and chief executive officer of the PRC, said his organization was able to buy 200,000 doses from American pharmaceutical company Moderna. The first batch of about 1,500 doses is expected to arrive next month.

Gordon clarified that the PRC will not be generating any profit from the vaccines in an online forum. The amount charged to the public is intended to recover the cost of the organization’s procurement to Moderna and administrative expenses such as the provision of personal protective equipment (PPE), food, and other assistance for its staff who will administer the jabs.

“If we count other things like electricity, ambulance, I think [charging P3,500] is the fair thing to do,” Gordon said.

PRC Governor Ma. Carissa Coscolluela also explained that the procured COVID-19 vaccines were intended to “vaccinate Red Cross members and donors, who are also our members, who are willing to bear the cost of the vaccines…”

“To set the record straight, PRC Chairman Richard Gordon never announced that the Red Cross is selling vaccines. He stressed the need to act fast and vaccinate as many people as we can,” Coscolluela stated in a Facebook post.

“[The fee intends to cover] costs for syringes, gloves, PPEs, meals and allowances of our doctors and nurses, and other essential expenses related to the vaccination,” she added.

“The PRC is a humanitarian organization and is not in the business of selling any vaccines. It does not charge for anything that it got free.”

—(Source: Inquirer)

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