The Albanian government signed an agreement which will engage Albania with the international COVAX mechanism in order to have access to the vaccine against COVID-19 once it is certified by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The story was confirmed by health minister Ogerta Manastirliu during a meeting with experts from the Public Health Institute.
Manastirliu confirmed that she will in continuous discussions with EU member states in order to be eligible to purchase the vaccine once it is developed.
By doing so, the Albanian government is now committed to financially assist the procurement of the vaccine together with 170 other states, including here EU countries.
“Albania’s participation in COVAX guarantees access and equality in procuring the COVID-19 vaccine, including here its guaranteed safety”, said Prof Gjeorgjina Kuli.
“There are currently over 200 vaccines being developed, but only 20 of them are in an advanced phase”, said Prof Eduard Kakarriqi from the Public Health Institute.
“The COVAX mechanism will give us access to the vaccine once it is officially safe to be used”, added Najada Çomo, the head of the Infective Disease hospital.
By the end of August, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen vowed to support the program by according €400 million, meanwhile appealed to EU countries to engage in the program.
Accordingly, by the time the vaccine will developed, states will be able to receive enough vaccines to cover at least 20% of the population, initially on the most vulnerable age groups as well as healthcare workers.
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