Approximately 7 million doses of the vaccine against COVID-19 have been or will be destroyed in the coming period, says Alexandru Rafila. There are still 3 million doses in warehouses. The Minister of Health hopes to reach a “negotiated solution”, in the lawsuit with Pfizer.
7 million doses of anti-Covid-19 vaccine, destroyed – Photo Shutterstock
The Minister of Health reported that approximately 7 million doses of the anti-COVID-19 vaccine have been or will be destroyed shortly, while 3 million doses remain in warehouses.
Moreover, Alexandru Rafila hopes that a solution will be found in relation to the lawsuit filed by Pfizer for the vaccines that Romania has decided to stop purchasing.
During the interview given on Monday night at Euronews, Alexandru Rafila was asked about the anti-COVID-19 vaccines purchased by Romania during the pandemic. The Minister of Health detailed that initially 94 million doses were purchased, but later the amount was reduced to 80 million.
“36-37 million doses were actually purchased, these are doses that were used. About 7 million doses have been destroyed or will be destroyed in the next period, about 3 million doses are still in warehouses. A quantity of almost 29 million doses for which there was Romania's commitment to purchase them were no longer purchased, they are the subject of the litigation with the Pfizer companyRafila said.
He noted that there was only a first appearance in the trial, which set a new deadline.
“I hope we can find a solution in the end, maybe a negotiated solution (…) We have thrown away enough vaccines. Some of the producers were extremely fair and understanding and did not continue the requests to purchase the vaccine. Moderna, for example, concluded the contract and no longer requested the purchase“, added the Minister of Health.
We remind you that the Romanian state was sued for non-compliance with the contract signed for the purchase of vaccines against Covid-19 by the companies Pfizer and BioNTech. At the end of last year, the Pfizer company notified the Romanian state regarding the opening of a litigation for the recovery of some sums of money, considering the non-finalization of the purchase by the Romanian side of 28 million doses of anti-Covid vaccine. Not only Romania is in such a situation, but also other countries in Europe, such as Poland and Hungary.
The Ministry of Finance deals with this litigation, and at the first appearance, on February 20, a procedural calendar was established, “which will include several stages for the submission of documents, followed later by the stage of hearings“. An interval of approximately four months has been set until the first submission of documents, i.e. on June 20, 2024, but a clear deadline for the hearings has not been decided, according to a statement from the Ministry of Finance.
