Moldovan government earmarks 60 million lei to buy 338,000 doses of anti-COVID vaccine

Chisinau, 11 March /MOLDPRES/ - The cabinet today earmarked 60 million lei from the government’s reserve fund to the Health, Labour and Social Protection Ministry (MSMPS) for purchasing anti-COVID vaccine. The financial means will allow buying about 330,000 vaccine doses, which accounts for one fourth of the necessary amount of 1,386,115 doses, the government’s communication and protocol department has reported.    
The decision to distribute the means of the government’s reserve fund for the partial purchasing of the needed amount of anti-COVID vaccine doses was approved, given that the allocations in the MSMPS’s budget are insufficient to this end. ‘’At a 10 March meeting of the parliament’s standing bureau, I called on the lawmakers to allow the government to make derogation from the law on public procurements, so that we can hold direct negotiations with producers, in order to save time. If we accurately observe the law on public procurements, we are to lose at least one month for the formalities specific to tenders announced for procurements from public funds, hoping that the direct talks with producers will allow identifying the consignments available for procurement,’’ PM Aureliu Ciocoi said.   
Tendencies of worsening of the epidemic process of the infection with COVID-19 are recorded in Moldova, through the increase in the rate of infectiousness, growth in the number of areas classified in red code of alert, increase in the number of serious forms, increase in the number of deaths and growth of the number of asymptomatic forms. Thus, to diminish the spread of the infection on the population, besides the observance of the prophylaxis measures, the ensuring of the residents’ immunization with anti-COVID vaccine is a must.
According to estimations made by the National Public Health Agency (ANSP), to reach the target of 70 per cent of the residents vaccinated, 4, 851,403 doses are necessary. Taking into account that 1, 386, 115 doses (for 20 per cent of the population) will be got for free through COVAX, 2, 079, 173 doses (for 30 per cent of the residents) will be needed to be bought through COVAX at preferential price; the rest of the 1,386,115 doses (for 20 per cent of the population) need to be purchased directly from producer.
On 4 March, Moldova received 14, 400 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, delivered within the COVAX mechanism; the country has earlier received 21,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine as humanitarian assistance from Romania, which allowed starting the vaccination process in the country. As many as 8,116 medical employees have been vaccinated so far.  
photo: Government