The Andalusian Health Service (SAS) awarded the contract, for a total amount of 1,411,206.37 euros, 21% VAT included, for the transport service of vaccines against Covid-19 from delivery points authorized by the Ministry of Health in Andalusia –currently located in Seville and Granada-to hospitals and primary care districts of the SAS.
The amount of the offer without VAT remains at €1,166,286.26, even though the estimated value of the contract amounts to €2,332,572.52, according to information published by the Council on its procurement portal, consulted by Europa Press , bearing in mind that the duration of this contract is expected to be twelve months from its formalisation, albeit with the possibility of extension for another equal period of time.
As the support report for the procurement of this service recalls, in Spain the Ministry of Health is in charge of carrying out a centralized procurement of vaccines against Covid-19, “following the criteria established in the European Union”; to perform the next assignment of the dose which corresponds to each autonomous community, and to “authorize the delivery points of these vaccines” in the autonomies.
In the case of Andalusia, these are currently the two authorized points, located in the provinces of Seville and Granada, as also mentioned by the Department of Health and Consumption, which adds in the aforementioned report that, since the vaccination Against Covid-19, seven vaccines for adults and one for children have been authorized by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the Spanish Medicines Agency (Aemps), and “the authorization of another two is expected , soon”.
Transportation requirements
“All of these vaccines require storage and transport conditions in a cold net -between two and -8 degrees– and two of them also require very special and difficult conditions, since one of them must be stored in ultra-freezers at -80ºC and the other at -20ºC”as underlined by the ministry directed by Catalina García and then remarking that, for this reason, “for its transport it is necessary to maintain very specific requirements, using specially conditioned vehicles”.
From the Board they also add that, “recently, Aemps confirmed that no changes to the current distribution circuit are foreseen for 2023”, which means that “vaccines will continue to be acquired centrally by the Ministry of Health, will continue to deliver at the points authorized by the Ministry of Andalusia -currently located in Seville and Granada-, and each autonomous community must continue to use its own means for the subsequent distribution of vaccines”.
The Ministry of Health already advanced in this report, dated November 10, that “in addition to institutionalized people and people over 65, it is also possible to extend the booster dose to the general population“, which the Public Health Commission, in which the Ministry of Health and the Autonomous Communities are represented, confirmed last Thursday, which approved that people under 60 without risk factors, and provided there is no are contraindications, he can be vaccinated with the fourth dose of the vaccine against Covid-19.
To justify the procurement of this transport service, the Ministry of Health underlines that “the SAS has the obligation to guarantee in Andalusia the necessary supply of these vaccines, for the immunization of all people who settle in Andalusia strategy against Covid-19, taking into account that the demand for vaccination by the population could increase significantly again, if so indicated by the health authorities”.
For all of this, and “for public health reasons, it is considered essential to contract a transport service of the anti-Covid vaccine to the hospitals and primary care districts of the SAS, under the cold network conditions required by these medicines according to the respective data sheets techniques, in order to meet the supply needs of the vaccination points established by the SAS”, reads the aforementioned support report.
The tender object of this contract is not carried out by lots because, according to the Authority, “there is a need for a single carrier, with the ability to deliver to the centers according to the established routes and which allows SAS to adapt quickly to unforeseen situations or accidents”, so that “a plurality of suppliers would hinder the correct execution” of said contract.
Similarly, the Council has opted for an open tender procedure, pursuant to Article 131 of Law 9/2017, of 8 November, on public sector contracts, “since the services covered by this contract file may be provided by different market operators/suppliers” , so that “any company that meets the established requirements can submit an offer, which in turn will favor the achievement of a better quality/price ratio obtained as a result of competition and free competition from different suppliers”, according to the Andalusian administration.
The conformation of the basic budget for the offer of this contract was carried out “by calculating the direct costs of exploitation – personnel and means -, the indirect costs and the industrial benefit”. The deadline for obtaining the documentation and information to access this contract is January 3, 2023.
