Moldovan acting PM asks parliament to allow purchasing anti-Covid vaccine through derogation from law on public procurements

Chisinau, 10 March /MOLDPRES/ - Acting Prime Minister Aureliu Ciocoi today appealed to parliament with a request to allow the acting government to buy anti-Covid vaccines with derogation from the law on public procurements.  
In the request, the acting PM asked for permission to derogate from the normative act, in order to directly negotiate with producers and start the procedure of buying the anti-COVID vaccine as soon as possible.
Attending the meeting, chaired by Ciocoi, were the state secretary at the Finance Ministry, Tatiana Ivanicichina, and the state secretary at the Health, Labour and Social Protection Ministry (MSMPS), Tatiana Zatic.    
The government officials presented alarming statistics on the number of cases of infection with COVID and the capacities of the public health system at the limit, which imposes the speeding up of the purchasing of vaccines for mass immunization.
The acting prime minister informed the parliament’s standing bureau members that the government had identified 137 million lei in the cabinet’s reserve fund, in the so called ‘’immunization fund’’ of MSMPS and in funds of the National Health Insurances Company, which is enough for buying about one million of vaccine doses.    
In their speeches, the standing bureau members put more questions on the management of the process of fight against the pandemic and providing with the anti-coronavirus vaccines.
In the context, the acting PM stressed that Moldova would not favour any vaccine producer and that the residents must be able to choose. ‘’We need additional prerogatives to cope with this wave and start negotiations with foreign producers. We need close cooperation with the parliament on the whole, without differences on political criteria. We need involvement,’’ Ciocoi said.   
Parliament Speaker Zinaida Greceanii emphasized that the starting of the mass vaccination process and the carrying out of all needed procedures to this end was of vital importance.    
photo: Parliament