Thanks to the vaccine, the business is ready for anyone: so far, it allows employees to taste tens of thousands of euros

Since last summer, the European Commission, on behalf of the members of the union, has been negotiating with promising COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers for the right quantity for European countries. To date, the total EU vaccine portfolio is € 2.3 billion. dose: more than necessary to protect the entire EU population. It is announced that the EU has already secured the necessary quantity of vaccines through advance contracts. The fact that the vaccine is more widely available is also to be expected that companies that produce it will redesign their capacity and thus increase production, and possibly more and more companies will be on the list of approved vaccines.

While the vaccination process is taking place gradually in Lithuania, companies are already thinking and looking for ways to vaccinate their employees against the coronavirus. The coronavirus that has infiltrated the company not only slows down the company’s operations in part or in full, but also tightens the handbrake for the country’s overall economic recovery from the pandemic.

It is not prohibited to negotiate a vaccine business with vaccine manufacturers, but it is understood that neither individual companies, associations of companies or even organizations representing certain sectors in Brussels have sufficient bargaining power to secure the vaccine here and now When the world is fighting strength like the European Union.

Therefore, in Lithuania, companies must wait until the vaccine, which arrives in small quantities, reaches the most vulnerable and is later available to the private sector. It is true that waiting can take a long time.

While all countries are fighting for the vaccine, Lithuania last week refused to buy an additional 310,000. doses of vaccines from the American manufacturer Moderna. The government initially said the decision was made because the manufacturer of the vaccine had increased the price of the product by a third.

Portal Delphi In a recent comment sent by the Ministry of Health (SAM), the additional doses of Moderna vaccine would not have improved the situation in Lithuania due to the low number of vaccines available these days, since “the additional doses proposed would only have reached Lithuania in the fourth quarter “. According to the quantities of vaccines already ordered now, Lithuania would already have 496 thousand. Modern vaccine doses.

“This was the main reason why the government did not participate in the announced vaccine auction,” SAM responded to the request.

COVID-19 Spends Tens of Thousands on Personnel Research

It would be difficult to argue that companies are nothing less than a quarantined frozen society waiting for a broader and faster vaccination process. Manufacturing and retail establishments that are allowed to operate during quarantine spend large sums of money on regular inspections of their personnel – so that they are not inadvertently detained by a difficult-to-control coronavirus.

Jolanta Bivainytė, General Manager of the Maxima retail chain, stated that if there was an opportunity to vaccinate employees against COVID-10 with company funds, the company would use it.

“We have interviewed private health institutions about the possibility of such vaccination: at the moment there is no such possibility and no one is making predictions,” he said.

The head of the company also added that although the issue of price is still relevant, in such a situation it is a secondary issue. In addition, the company would be ready to vaccinate employees against the coronavirus, as it already provides the opportunity to get vaccinated against influenza every year.

“Last year, there were more people who wanted to get vaccinated against seasonal flu than usual; almost 30% were vaccinated with company funds. Our employees. I predict that more than 50% would like to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Our employees ”, said the interlocutor.

Vaccination, which has gained insufficient momentum, is costing companies financially not only for trying to protect workers but also customers. Since the beginning of the pandemic, retail chain Maxima has allocated an additional 300,000 LTL each month. to ensure safe shopping for customers and a safe work environment for employees.

There are additional costs for companies that proactively screen their employees to prevent coronavirus in their operations.

“The proven solution in our company is the preventive screening of employees for COVID-19, when we notice at least several recurring illnesses in the same departments,” said J. Bivainytė, adding that last year the company spent more than 33 thousand in such tests. . euros.

Ready to wait

Romualda Stragienė, director of the cosmetics and hygiene products company “Biok Laboratory”, admitted that she is waiting for the opportunity when the company will be able to vaccinate employees on its own initiative, but according to her knowledge, it will be necessary to wait.

“We are not on the priority list. We became interested in that and we saw that vaccination would come late enough for us, because production companies are not a priority,” he said.

The manufacturing plant chief said that while he waited and watched what would happen, he had already decided to consider vaccinating workers with COVID-19 on his own, if possible.

“Because they go to work all the time as in the front: they meet people in shifts, they make contact. When I talk to the staff, I hear that they are concerned because they have families, some of them, also in the families of the elderly, and they are afraid of taking the virus home, “said the interviewee.

According to her, although the vaccination of workers seems distant, an attempt is made to manage the risk of the virus with the recommended measures, separating shifts, etc.

Marijus Kirstukas, director of the beverage company Kalnapilis-Tauras grupė, said that so far the company has the opportunity and is trying as much as possible to test the employees.

“Especially after a major vacation. We try to give employees the opportunity to test if they want, ”he said, adding that the cost of testing is not very high at the moment.

According to him, the possibility of vaccinating employees would be a great benefit for the business, and the company would bear all the costs: “We are actively looking for an opportunity. As soon as the vaccines were approved, we immediately decided that as soon as the vaccines were commercially available, we would want them. “

Marius Horbačiauskas, director of the company “Wolf Engelman”, thinks similarly: although the company does not regularly test employees, the company continues to incur other costs due to the endless pandemic: security measures, separation of shifts, rethinking of capabilities.

SAM talks about the fourth quarter of this year

Portal Delphi A comment sent by the Ministry of Health and Health (SAM) sent in 2006 states that vaccine manufacturers do not currently supply the required quantities of vaccines to EU countries, so it is currently not possible for the private sector to obtain vaccines from the state or directly from vaccine manufacturers.

“Once vaccination of all priority groups has been completed in the fourth quarter of this year and there are unused quantities of vaccines, the vaccine could also be offered to the private sector.” Currently, the private sector can participate in the vaccination process by vaccinating people according to the vaccination procedure for priority groups approved by the Minister, ”the Ministry responded.

The comment also adds that the government’s dialogue with the private sector is ongoing and, “according to preliminary estimates, the private sector could vaccinate its employees independently in the fourth quarter of this year.”

Open pharmacies to contribute to the vaccination process

Reach the 70% goals. The vaccinated population would also join pharmacies.

Laura Bielskė, communication director of the pharmacy network “Eurovaistinė”, was pleased that more and more pharmacists are receiving the vaccine and are already waiting for the second one. Smaller cities are estimated to have already arranged for pharmacy staff to be among the first to be vaccinated. This has already been done in Molėtai, Ignalina, Ariogala, Šilalė and other cities.

“For our part, we are delving into the requirements that must be met to be vaccinated, as we are open to a partnership on COVID-19 vaccination,” he said.

At the moment, there are no instructions to buy privately

Laimutis Paškevičius, executive director of the Lithuanian Association of Private Health Institutions, also says that it is currently difficult to plan when the vaccine will be available to the private sector.

“The European Union has agreed ethical and solidarity values ​​and countries receive vaccines according to their population. Until the need of the states to vaccinate the entire population free of charge, there will be no possibility of acquiring a commercial vaccine ”, explained the interlocutor.

According to L. Paškevičius, private health institutions receive inquiries from both patients and employers about the possibility of private vaccination, but since many private institutions request both vaccine manufacturers and suppliers, they do not receive any indication to buy them.

“It just came to our attention then.” The priority is simply supplying the states, “he added.

The interlocutor said that while private companies could merge and contact vaccine manufacturers in a group or through associations, they are unlikely to have enough bargaining power like states or the European Union.

“We are not a contracting authority. The second is the need for financial guarantees.” All associated structures do not have the financing to buy the vaccines and then distribute them, so the focus should now be on distributing the vaccines already available in the way as efficient as possible, probing when commercial vaccines will be available in parallel, “commented the head of the association.