Sinovac Biotech General Manager Helen Yang is disputing claims that the Chinese-made vaccine is among the most expensive ones.

In an interview on CNN Philippines, Yang said that the Philippine government got the vaccines at a reasonable price.

She also said that the price is reasonable and definitely not the second most expensive in the market.

“That’s not the second most expensive, I can assure you. It is reasonable, I believe,” Yang told CNN Philippines.

“I will be assuring you that this is a very good price that we have provided to the Philippines,” she added.

Yang’s statement is similar to Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque and Vaccine Czar Carlito Galvez that the vaccine costs around P650 similar to Indonesia.

Government officials however said that they cannot disclose the exact price of the vaccine due to the confidentiality agreement.

She likewise pointed out that buying the vaccine is only one factor in the cost, other costs should also be considered such as logistics, transportation and storage of the vaccine.

Sinovac is already finalizing the term sheet agreement with the Philippine government.

The country has so far secured 25 million doses of Sinovac with its first 50,000 doses to arrive in February.

Roque added that he cannot announce the price because the vaccines are priced differently.

“China is not like capitalist companies that are market dictated. China can change the prices…it depends on who will buy. That’s the reason why China does not want it announced because others who are not their BFF and who are paying higher prices may get angry,” the Palace spokesman said.

The palace also dismissed calls to cancel the deal with Sinovac.

“What the president said was they can say what they want to say. In the end, it is the president that is ultimately responsible to the people. Fake news will come out. In the end, it will be implemented by the president because it is good for the people,” Roque said.

The government is currently dealing with seven vaccine manufacturers. (TDT)