Moldova to receive 178,000 anti-COVID vaccine doses on 17 April

Chisinau, 16 April /MOLDPRES/ - Moldova on 17 April will benefit from two consignments of vaccine in form of donation. The first and the most important batch has a volume of 130,000 doses of AstraZeneca, generously provided by the government of Romania, which comes through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. Also on 17 April, an airship with 48,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, through the COVAX platform, is expected to be brought at the Chisinau Airport. We will also benefit from the delivery of a donation agreed upon with the Chinese partner till the end of April, Prime Minister Aureliu Ciocoi said today evening.     

After the meeting of the single command centre of the emergency state, the PM made more statements in the process of immunization in the country, purchasing of vaccines against COVID-19 through the COVAX platform, vaccine donations, etc.  

„I have seen diverse stories which treat completely erroneously what was decided at the national centre for coordinating the immunization against COVID-19; therefore, I come up with specifications in this respect. Thus, it is certain that the Health Ministry is in process of purchasing a consignment of 100,000 Corona Vac vaccine from a producer of China. This is certain thing, which I officially confirm,’’ Aureliu Ciocoi.

At the same time, the official reiterated that, on the COVAX platform, the member countries benefited from 20 per cent of the necessary amount of national immunizations in form of donation and 30 per cent of the needed quantity is provided at suitable price, the producer one. ‘’Therefore, a decision was taken that, on the COVAX platform, Moldova is to procure over two million doses of available vaccine, as on this platform, we do not choose the vaccine which we want to buy, but take what is available and we are to pay the value of the consignments provided, if we accept them,’’ the acting PM noted.

The acting prime minister also said that ‘’discussions were started with the Moderna producers for the possibility to buy 1.5 million doses of this vaccine.’’ ‘’I stress – it is about discussions. Also, the request from the Russian Direct Investment Fund is also from the category of discussions; the Fund has title on the Sputnik V vaccine and it is to inform about their conditions for an eventual acquisition of 700,000 doses of this vaccine. In Romanian, it means that discussions take place, negotiations are not yet held. We are waiting to see the conditions proposed both by Moderna and the Fund from Russia. It is not about purchasing, but only exploring,’’ Aureliu Ciocoi also said.

At present, over 82,000 Moldovan citizens benefited from the first vaccination and 9,476 citizens were revaccinated. According to the PM, ‘’namely this figure can be regarded as figure of immunized citizens, as the immunization takes place only after the revaccination.’’    

Under the National Plan on anti-COVID-19 Immunization, Moldova is set to immunize about 70 per cent of the residents against the new-type coronavirus.