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According to Asta Skaisgirytė, the country’s lead adviser, Lithuania, unlike, for example, Latvia, has secured the supply of vaccines from various manufacturers.
Therefore, the adviser emphasizes, the fact that vaccination with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has not yet started in Lithuania should not have a significant negative impact. The first 4.8 thousand people arrived in Lithuania on Tuesday. doses of COVID-19 vaccines from the American company Johnson & Johnson.
However, earlier this week, US authorities recommended that use of the vaccine be discontinued as a precautionary measure until any possible link between the vaccine and blood clots is investigated.
According to A. Skaisgirytė, when it comes to vaccination with these vaccines, the most important thing will be to take into account what the European Medicines Agency and the experts will say.
“However, we trust your opinion on whether it is a safe vaccine or an unsafe vaccine. So far, it is said that the benefits of vaccination are sure to outweigh the potential harms. The words of the experts are needed here, and the experts Not the politicians, they have to say if this vaccine can be used or not, ”he told LRT radio.
In any case, said A. Skaisgirytė, the situation in Lithuania is good because of the vaccines that reach it. In particular, the adviser pointed out when it became clear that 310,000 people would arrive in Lithuania at the end of June. additional doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19. This was announced by President Gitanas Nausėda on Wednesday.
“We believe that after receiving Pfizer (additional – ELTA) vaccines, our situation will be very good,” said A. Skaisgirytė.
“In total, we will receive 1.5 million vaccines from Pfizer in the second quarter of this year,” he added.
“This is very good news, because such quantities would allow to vaccinate as many people as living together in Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Alytus,” emphasized A. Skaisgirytė.
In this regard, the adviser continued, the situation in Lithuania with regard to the choice of vaccines is much better than in neighboring Latvia.
“When the vaccine basket was created, Latvia chose Astra Zeneca as the predominant vaccine, and Lithuania chose it as only one of the vaccines, along with Pfizer, Moderna and others. Our basket is much more diverse and it has paid off, because now we have more Pfizer than Latvia, ”said the adviser.
ELTA recalls that, despite the recommendations of the World Health Organization and the European Medicines Agency to continue vaccination with Vaxzevria, Denmark has rejected these vaccines. Latvia, meanwhile, says it will find out if it can receive unused doses of Vaxzevria COVID-19. The Czech Republic has also expressed interest in unused Vaxzevria vaccines in Denmark.
According to media reports, the European Commission (EC) has decided not to renew AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine purchase agreements next year.
