Businesses grit their teeth over state-abandoned COVID-19 vaccines – we would have paid more

Some time ago, the government rejected the EC’s offer to buy an additional 310 thousand. doses of modern vaccines. Then Health Minister Arūnas Dulkys declared that the pharmaceutical company a little more than 30 percent. its price increased and Lithuania was not satisfied with the delivery times for vaccines.

“Because Moderna raises the price and does not want to distribute them on the same terms, it increases that price by 33 percent. more than what is specified in the agreement, and since the deadlines are not improved either, but are forecast only for the end of the year, there is a proposal in our working group not to approve such changes and not to make this addition ”. BNS said.

It is true that the Lithuanian trade representatives claim that the company would have bought the vaccine and paid for it and more than requested. The Ministry of Health (SAM), for its part, assures that such opportunities could not have been provided.

Arlauskas: the business was not thought

Danas Arlauskas, president of the Lithuanian Employers’ Confederation, interviewed by Delfi, assured that it is important to highlight several things when it comes to vaccines. The first, as he said, is that if doctors and teachers don’t pay for vaccines, everyone should have free access to them, as well as, as he added, to business.

“But since all is not well in our state, what to do for those who have not been in the ranks of the nice, and you understand that as an employer, you also have a responsibility to other people, their families, well-being.

So it is clear at this point that those employers who will look responsibly and diligently at the certain functions entrusted to them must decide that if they want to keep the business afloat and ensure its viability, these people will need to be vaccinated on their own. , “he said.

Asked what they think of the Moderna vaccines abandoned by the state and if they had been helpful for business, D. Arlauskas said that there are no questions here.

“It just came to our attention then.

But one more thing, the government should include this in the costs to avoid having to pay personal income tax (PIT) and Sodra taxes. Believe me, surely all entrepreneurs will vaccinate their employees who look at it responsibly.

Let’s see it from the other side, after all, nobody has compensated companies for any glass partition, nobody compensates for disinfectants or respirators, because companies look at it responsibly and understand that the greatest value of each business is the human resources that absence. Here there is no doubt if the business would buy vaccines, cheap or expensive, it will definitely buy and find money so that people feel safe ”, he assured.

According to D. Arlauskas, a person who is ill and unable to work costs more for the business than a vaccine, so there is no doubt about the price of the vaccine.

“The company gives gifts to employees at Christmas, makes balls, takes them abroad to rest, and not to buy a vaccine here … I don’t know if those bosses would appear here,” he considered.

When asked if large companies would be more interested in buying vaccines, he said human resources are even more important for small companies because there are only a few employees there.

“Imagine if there are 9 people in a company and a financial specialist gets sick. And in a large company, there may be 5 such financial specialists and they can be replaced. I think that vaccines and vaccines are even more important for smaller companies than for big ones, because the big ones have more resources ”, he compared.

“In general, I don’t think business was thought of.

The EU has assured us that they will supply us with vaccines, but it was simply necessary to allow each country to buy the vaccines itself, and the decision to make the centralized purchase did not work, that is obvious. And here a big mistake was made because, in essence, the British have already withdrawn from the EU, that clumsy structure that manifests itself in such difficult times.

I think that not only the business here will be angry about the missed vaccines, but also the people themselves, who have lost the opportunity to get vaccinated, ”said D. Arlauskas.

The little ones may not buy

Zita Sorokienė, President of the Lithuanian Association of Small Entrepreneurs and Traders, also stated that the company may have agreed to buy the abandoned vaccines, but stressed that the company is not dependent on the company as it could pose challenges for the little ones. .

“Maybe a medium and large company would really agree, but it would be difficult for the smaller company to pay for itself. I think that shared vaccines should be available for purchase by anyone who has savings and can do so. Companies would benefit. in the same way.

Of course, the thing about companies is that they should be able to include the purchase of those vaccines in the costs so that those amounts are not taxed.

I mean, if the vaccines are too expensive for the state, they still need to be used, ”he said, explaining that many may also wonder why the amounts would be included in the costs to the business.

“It just came to our attention then. They are paid by the company.” People are vaccinated with the same taxes, “he said.

Dalius Gedvilas, director of the Lithuanian Builders Association, also had the same opinion.

“The business that is more sustainable and financially stable would probably be willing to invest in the purchase of those vaccines. Companies are now asking that those costs be allowed to be considered expenses.

Those who export construction services would have tried to buy these vaccines, because workers taken to other markets need to be quarantined, employers think it would be faster to vaccinate people and provide certificates that a person has immunity and can go to others countries and work there. . “Also he said.”

Ministry: The private sector could self-vaccinate in the fourth quarter of the year.

Delfi contacted the Ministry of Health (SAM) regarding the refusal to purchase vaccines for Lithuania.

According to the Ministry, the additional doses of Moderna vaccine offered would not have improved the situation in the country due to the small amount of vaccine doses received these days, since, as specified, 310 thousand additional doses were offered. the doses would have reached Lithuania in the second half of the year, in the fourth quarter.

“This is the main reason why the government did not participate in the announced vaccine auction. The manufacturer has also increased the price of additional doses of Moderna vaccine by 30%,” commented the ministry representatives.

When asked if the possibility that vaccines could be purchased directly by companies, albeit at a higher price, or repurchased from the state was considered, SAM experts explained that such a possibility did not exist because other countries lacked it.

“Currently, vaccine manufacturers in the European Union do not deliver the required quantities of vaccines to countries, so there is currently no possibility for the private sector to buy vaccines from the state or directly from vaccine manufacturers”, they said. He even predicted when a company could start vaccinating its employees on its own.

“Once vaccination of all priority groups is completed in the fourth quarter of this year and there are unused quantities of vaccine, the vaccine could also be offered to the private sector.”

The private sector can still participate in the vaccination process by vaccinating individuals according to the vaccination procedure for priority groups approved by the Minister.

As already mentioned, according to preliminary calculations, the private sector would have the opportunity to vaccinate its employees independently in the fourth quarter of this year, ”said the ministry.