The plenary session of the Upper House resolved to express its support for the Government’s negotiations to acquire the vaccines. While several legislators pointed out that this was interpreted as an endorsement, from the opposition, they pointed out that it is also an urgency to bring the doses as quickly as possible.
The president of the Senate, Óscar Salomón (ANR, Añetete), said that he called the session after a meeting in the morning of the legislators members of the Health Commission, chaired by Antonio Barrios (ANR, Chartist) with authorities of the Chancellery and the Ministry of Health, who explained the ongoing negotiations.
Barrios pointed out that the proposal is to acquire from the United States Government two million AstraZeneca vaccines at a unit cost of US $ 6 and 30 cents that add up to US $ 12 million. He pointed out that the commission approved the proposal of several senators to provide for the purchase of non-reimbursable funds from Taiwan.
On the other hand, Barrios said that they also spoke with authorities of the World Health Organization (WHO) to express Paraguay’s displeasure at the failure to comply with the Covax Mechanism for the global distribution of vaccines. He added that the WHO offered explanations and that the agency promised to send 36,000 doses to Paraguay in two weeks and another 64,000 doses before Easter. “Suddenly Paraguay is going to have two million, one hundred thousand vaccines,” Barrios celebrated.
Senator Stephan Rasmussen (PPQ) pointed out that the approved declaration is not binding and stressed that the Executive Branch already has all the legislative tools to purchase vaccines.
Senator Juan Carlos Galaverna (ANR, Añetete) proposed testing the third article of the statement that spoke of “Be aware that due to urgency the cost of vaccines could vary.” This proposal was approved.
Senator Víctor Ríos (PLRA, independent) said that President Mario Abdo Benítez must “rush the camel” and bring the vaccines as quickly as possible.
Senators from the Guasu Front stated that the Senate’s convocation to this session was unnecessary and they launched numerous criticisms against the government for the lack of preparation in 12 months. They also repudiated that the Executive has waited for citizen mobilizations to act quickly.
For her part, Senator Desirée Masi (PDP) said that despite cases of negative reactions to vaccines, international organizations recommend not stopping vaccinations.
