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“We are talking about making the vaccine free to all residents,” Skvernel told a news conference. He said the amount of the vaccine would come from the state budget.
The Prime Minister also announced after the government meeting that the maximum cost of vaccines would be 125 million. euros.
“It will be funded from the state budget, if necessary, later this year, if the optimistic option is confirmed. And if there are others, we don’t know when or if those vaccines will be developed at all. That would be budget money,” he said S. Skvernelis.
The prime minister said that so far it is difficult to talk about the minimum amount possible because it is not clear which company will produce an effective vaccine.
And as for the minimum possible amount, if it were a single company, the difference is from 3 to 18 euros, that amount would be several times less. It would depend on which company would succeed in producing the vaccine, “said S. Skvernelis.
He said that if the 7 companies produced the specified amount of vaccines, the country would have more than a million vaccines.
Plan B also resulted
The Head of Government also informed that if Lithuania happened to have a surplus of vaccines, negotiations would start with the Eastern Partnership countries so that the vaccines could be sold. This is allowed by the agreement of the European Commission with the manufacturers.
There could be a surplus if the seven manufacturers with whom Lithuania has a contract successfully produce vaccines and Lithuania could not terminate some contracts.
The Prime Minister also explained the limits of what Lithuania can and cannot solve when participating in the European negotiations. According to S. Skvernelis, Lithuania, depending on the population, cannot buy even fewer vaccines than currently planned.
In the framework of this purchase, the party cannot independently negotiate prices with producers, which are agreed with producers by the European Commission.
He wants to vaccinate 70 percent. populations
As previously announced, the Government’s National Security Commission unanimously decided on Tuesday that Lithuania and other European Union countries would participate in the procurement of seven possible coronavirus vaccines, the Government Chancellery announced on Wednesday. This decision was also confirmed by the Cabinet of Ministers at a government meeting on Wednesday afternoon.
The question was presented by the Minister of Health, Aurelius Veryga, who recalled that it is promised to vaccinate 70 percent of the country’s population.
“I would like to remind you that on July 29, during the meeting of the Government of Lithuania, it was decided in accordance with the recommendations of the medical group, concluding a preliminary agreement for the purchase of vaccines with the EC. And to achieve collective immunity, plan the purchase of such a quantity of vaccine that 70 percent of the country’s population can be vaccinated ”, recalled A. Veryga.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will also have the task of initiating consultations with public and non-EU organizations on the possible transfer, donation or donation of vaccine doses.
“Such a need would arise if more than one vaccine was developed and we had a surplus,” Veryga explained.
Both Prime Minister and Health Minister Aurelijus Veryga confirmed on Tuesday that by choosing the aforementioned option, if all vaccines are approved as effective and safe, Lithuania could have to pay more than 100 million for them. euros.
“Even if we paid the maximum amount possible, the public cost of the vaccine would be around € 40 per person for all companies that could potentially be hired. I really don’t think that price is too high, “said S. Skvernelis.
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