Nausėda: We must be ready to vaccinate 10 thousand people by the end of February. people a day

In recent days, G. Nausėda spoke with the mayors of the big cities about preparations for vaccination.

“I am glad that all mayors have confirmed their willingness, both logistically, in terms of infrastructure and human resources, to increase vaccination rates from three to five times in a few days, depending on the possibilities and circumstances, and thus achieve a ambitious target of mass vaccination or herd immunity until mid-summer, “said G. Nausėda at a press conference on Friday after the meeting with R. Šimašas.

According to him, achieving this goal is not easy due to the problematic supply of vaccines across Europe. However, as a result, the president assured, intense negotiations are taking place at the EU level.

“Today we are awaiting a decision on the suitability of the AstraZeneca vaccine, and if that decision is made, according to statements from the company’s management, 105 thousand people could arrive in Lithuania in February. doses of vaccines.

Together with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, this could amount to around 200,000. vaccinations, which would mean that in the second half of February we should be ready to vaccinate about 10,000. population per day, “said the president.

According to him, in the second quarter of the year, when the supply of vaccines increases, we must be ready to vaccinate and 35 thousand. people a day.

“Interesting experience in Latvia. They established the National Vaccination Office in mid-January, hiring specialists in data and flow management. It has recently published a fairly comprehensive vaccination plan aimed at achieving the EU goal of achieving herd immunity by the summer inclusive. These examples are optimistic, “said G. Nausėda.

He expressed his hope that Lithuania “is ready to achieve the most ambitious goal with a sufficient supply, as vaccination is the only reliable way out of the pandemic.”

At the same time, the president welcomed the opening of Thermo Fisher Scientific’s vaccine component production.

“The example of this company could become an exciting example for all of us: the company, which was planned to build in two years, was built in four months, working three shifts of builders and to implement their plan in the shortest possible time. that it is possible in business, I believe, it is also possible in public administration ”, the president emphasized.

Mr. Nausėda pointed out that we need to increase civic powers. As a result, he plans to speak to the Vilnius communities.

Sediment: MBRS must adjust the published vaccination plan.

When asked about a plan announced by the Ministry of Health (SAM) that provides for mass vaccination starting in July, the president replied that such a plan is different from the EU’s objectives.

“If such a plan were to become final, we would probably be the first EU country to decide on a different timetable for the exercise of herd immunity.” Although the entire EU intends to do so before the summer, Lithuania intends to do so in the long term. I return to the most important thing: if we have enough vaccines, we will not have the opportunity to apologize for the reason why we vaccinate less than the vaccine ”, emphasized G. Nausėda.

However, he noted that if the supply of vaccines remains uneven, it would be an “objective obstacle” to achieving this goal, according to the country’s minister.

“Those efforts are made every day, sometimes they take drastic forms that are not common in daily practice, I think they will pay off. In any case, we must be prepared for an increase in the rate of vaccination and we cannot plan our steps towards the future based on yesterday’s data, ”said G. Nausėda.

He did not hide the fact that the additional vaccination algorithms will become more complex, which means that the vaccination plan, according to the president, must be updated and specific.

“We have to prepare for the non-rhythmic details of the factory print process, and we have to prepare for an accelerated, accelerated process, because it really can be easily predicted. Today, it is more difficult to predict how many vaccines we will have in March, April or May, but in reality we can do it 100 percent. to predict that we will have more and more vaccines each month, ”said G. Nausėda.

Šimašius: We are prepared for large volumes of vaccinations

In turn, the mayor of the capital, R. Šimašius, pointed out that currently around a thousand people are vaccinated daily in Vilnius. persons.

“We are ready to increase the volume of vaccines immediately at least several times, if there are enough vaccines.” This is a very important task, we are prepared for it, I would not even say that there are great challenges. Unlike the preparation of hospital beds, “said R. Šimašius.

According to the mayor of Vilnius, about 5,000 people were vaccinated. population per day would generally be simple and would not cause any problems.

“If we talk about higher numbers, then our strategy is more ‘on the ground’, which we apply in the tests: we do not invite to stadiums, concert halls, municipal buildings or anywhere else, but we tend to go to people ourselves … The team that deals with vaccines would come to the school, to a social assistance institution, to a company or elsewhere and could do things; it would be much simpler and simpler, ”said R. Šimašius.

Speaking about the vaccination plans of the presidency and the ministry, the mayor said that the scope of vaccination in Vilnius is limited only by the number of vaccines received.

“SAM’s provision is to distribute the vaccines evenly throughout Lithuania, not to exclude large cities and smaller municipalities. I think this is a logical solution, perhaps unless individual groups can be exempted. Naturally, there are more of these more sensitive groups in Vilnius, just because there are more medical institutions of national importance, it might be possible to give a little more, but we are ready to vaccinate as much as is available, ”R Šimašius pointed out.

According to him, achieving herd immunity in midsummer is realistic if enough vaccines are available.

The mayor of the capital pointed out that other issues were also discussed with the head of the country: important cultural projects and challenges and problems facing the capital.