Recurrent: Ministry of Health

Recurred resolution: R/0272/2022

In exercise of his right of access to information, a citizen submitted a letter to the Ministry of Health, requesting the economic cost of the vaccines purchased against Covid-19 since June 30, 2021, broken down by number of doses, company and economic cost in euros.

The Administration grants partial access and reports the number of doses purchased broken down by companies, but denies the information related to the economic cost of the same on the grounds that their purchase price is subject to confidentiality, as established in the Agreement between the European Commission and the Member States on vaccines against Covid-19 (BOE No. 211, from 05/08/2020). In this line, the concurrence of the limits of access provided for in article 14.1.h), j) and k) LTAIBG is invoked —harm to economic and commercial interests; professional secrecy and the guarantee of confidentiality in decision-making processes.

The Council for Transparency and Good Governance has submitted a complaint pursuant to Article 24 LTAIBG, stating that the application of the limits invoked by the Administration must be based on a weighting of interests – the interest in access and the specific interest that is protected by the limit invoked in each case – applied to the specific case under examination and that, in that exercise, the Administration has not justified the specific damage that would arise from the provision of the information, especially if one takes into account a precedent of the previous year, in which it provided the information on doses acquired, distributed by laboratory and cost, although referring to a previous time, protected goods.