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The EC had previously announced an agreement with the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to purchase COVID-19 vaccines. Four other companies are also being consulted about it: Johnson & Johnson, Curevac, Moderna and BioNTech-Pfizer.
EC President Ursula von der Leyen said the agreement with Sanofi-GSK reflects the EC’s commitment to ensuring equal access to safe and effective vaccines not only for European citizens, but also for the world’s poor. .
AFP / “Scanpix” nuotr./EK pirmininkė Ursula von der Leyen
“Vaccines will soon be agreed with other companies and we will have a promising portfolio of vaccines based on various technologies. It will increase our chances of finding an effective tool to fight the virus, “he added.
If the tests and trials are successful, Sanofi-GSK expects to have COVID-19 in the second half of 2021.
The European Vaccine Strategy, adopted by the EC on June 17, 2020, aims to ensure high-quality, safe, effective and affordable vaccines for all European citizens within 12 to 18 months.
To this end, the EC, in cooperation with member states, concludes advance purchase agreements with vaccine manufacturers, which grant member states the right to purchase a specified number of doses of the vaccine at a fixed price once developed the vaccine.
The EC is also committed to ensuring that all people who need the vaccine have it anywhere in the world, not just in their own country.
Lithuania also participates in the purchase of the COVID-19 vaccine organized by the EC. Previously it was announced that our country plans to buy a little more than 1.8 million. COVID-19 vaccine dose. They would be enough to vaccinate just over 70 percent of the population.
However, on Tuesday, Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis announced that even more doses will be purchased, costing more than 100 million. euros. Signing a contract for the purchase of vaccines, he said, is a risk, so it is wise to choose a strategy.
“What path to choose for the country: take risks, not take risks, to what extent take risks. They are decisions that affect health, the lives of our people, the economy of our country, what would be the consequences if we did not whether we vaccinated or not had a vaccine, as this would affect our economy, it would cost hundreds of millions of euros. [nuostolių]”Said S. Skvernelis.
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