Bosnia's Civil Affairs Ministry has no information regarding European Commission's €70 million aid for the procurement of coronavirus vaccine for the Western Balkans, the Ministry told N1 on Tuesday, adding that they have ordered 82,000 doses via COVAX.
“The Ministry has no official information regarding the decision of the European Commission, but it welcomes any decision that can contribute to a more successful fight against coronavirus. Following the instructions of the competent health institutions, and in accordance with the invitation of the EU Delegation to BiH, the Ministry expressed Bosnia's needs for the procurement of vaccines against COVID-19 through the EU procurement mechanism. Under this Mechanism, Bosnia ordered 892,000 doses,” the Ministry said.
EU's Neighbourhood and Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi said recently that during the entire pandemic, the EU showed that it treats the Western Balkans as privileged partners, the EU Office in Kosovo announced. The package will be paid in the form of grants to help cover the cost of vaccines for priority groups in the region, as well as the necessary vaccination equipment.
When it comes to direct agreements with vaccine producers, BiH Civil Affairs Ministry said they and the competent institutions of both BiH entities and Brcko District are carefully monitoring the situation in the world, especially the EU and the region when it comes to such agreements.
“We are aware that direct procurement has its benefits and downsides,” the Ministry said.
“The benefit of direct procurement is the delivery sped while the procurement via the COVAX mechanism is additional security for our citizens. When it comes to the voluntary vaccination, we still believe that additional security, guaranteed by mechanisms, will be the benefit that will help as many citizens as possible to respond to vaccination,” the Ministry concluded adding that the vaccine will be the main tool in the fight against COVID-19.
Although the EU continues to support the COVAX initiative, a global institution that provides equal universal access to COVID-19 vaccines, to which all Western Balkan partners have already applied, vaccine deliveries under the scheme are expected to begin later than EU's vaccination campaigns. Access to a number of doses from EU sales contracts will allow the region to start the vaccination in parallel with EU member states.
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