Parliament Approves Law Regulating Use of Covid Vaccines
Parliament on Friday approved a law regulating the novel use of medical products to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, which aims to reassure international companies that they will not be responsible in case of side effects for the anti-virus vaccines.
The law will allow for importing coronavirus vaccines from Pfizer and BioNTech.
Caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan had said the first batch of vaccines is expected in February.
During Friday’s session, Speaker Nabih Berri lauded “the work and the members of the parliamentary health committee and the mighty effort that was exerted to accomplish the law for regulating the novel use of medical products for fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.”
He said the law will allow “all medical companies and the private sector to import anti-coronavirus vaccines.”
The head of the parliamentary finance committee, MP Ibrahim Kanaan, meanwhile asked the government why “it has not begun negotiations and a call for proposals with the various international companies,” saying Lebanon should not limit its imports to only one or two companies.
Prior to the session, he had announced that the law will not give Pfizer an exclusive right to provide Lebanon with vaccines, calling on the government to immediately launch the necessary arrangements to obtain all vaccines that have been internationally licensed.
MP Simon Abi Ramia for his part said citizens “should not be prevented from filing lawsuits against vaccination labs should they suffer side effects.”
Source: Naharnet
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