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The prime minister stressed on Wednesday that even earlier, when dealing with the vaccines, it was decided that they would be purchased with borrowed funds. He assured that there was no other way.
According to S. Skvernelis, it is now impossible to say how much Lithuania will need for vaccines.
“It just came to our knowledge then. We will know the quantity when the first batch of vaccines from one company or another reaches Lithuania. We hope that this will happen as the European Commission promises, by Christmas, at the end of December,” said the politician.
According to him, a lot is being acquired, but the capabilities that medical institutions now have will also be used.
“It just came to our attention then. Then we can cover that amount with borrowed funds, which we have been doing for many years when the costs that will be required are unknown,” he said.
Skvernel said he did not know the details of how the vaccination would be carried out, which groups would be vaccinated first.
He stressed that the procedure is already prepared, but the Acting Minister of Health, Aurelijus Veryga, can comment on it in more detail.
A.Veryga: it will be more difficult to invite people to get vaccinated
A.Veryga said that this is the sixth vaccine decided by Lithuania.
Read more about the decision to buy the vaccine here.
A.Veryga emphasized that a vaccination plan has been developed. He did not want to go into more detail about the plan that was being considered.
“Let’s keep in mind that these are not impressively large volumes of cargo that would be very difficult to transport logistically,” he said.
According to A.Veryga, a bigger challenge for the delivery and storage of vaccines will be inviting people to get vaccinated, organizing their arrival and invitation.
The acting minister emphasized that this is not the first vaccine that Lithuania has brought and stored. “There is no need to make this a special event,” he added.
“The problem will be greater if many vaccines arrive, many people are called and logistics are assured,” he said.
V.Šapoka: there is no risk that the state will not be able to buy vaccines
Finance Minister Vilius Šapoka said he wanted to reassure: whether it is paid this year or next, the state will be able to pay for both the vaccine and logistics immediately.
“When initially we do not even know approximately what liabilities, it is expected that the borrowed funds can be used if necessary. There is certainly no risk that the state will not be able to acquire vaccines. We want to be among the first countries to buy vaccines,” he explained, and he emphasized that this is the reason why there is such a flexible mechanism.
Tighter quarantine restrictions
On Wednesday, the government allowed a maximum of 2 people to gather in public places, with some exceptions prohibiting trade in temporary zones. No stricter restrictions have been placed on merchants, only recommendations.
According to S. Skvernel, it was not even considered to limit the working hours of supermarkets: on Wednesday, the restrictions were adopted according to the experts’ proposal.
Read more about the latest quarantine restrictions here.
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