President Tells PM There Was No Need to Behave as Beggar for Anti-Covid Vaccines

“There is no reason to be a beggar, when you can be a serious and reliable partner,” the President, Ilir Meta responded to PM Edi Rama’s claims that the anti-Covid vaccines acquired so far had been made possible due to his role as a beggar.
Meta said in a TV talk show on Saturday that transparency is necessary for vaccines, because, according to him, any other behavior would be like trafficking,
“It is important to have full assurance about the vaccine, all the elements that have to do with the possible consequences on the health of the citizens. This is the task of the government and the responsible authorities,” he said, adding that he tried to encourage co-operation by including the opposition in a dialogue and cooperation with the government.
“But the main public authority for managing this situation appeared the Prime Minister, which in my estimation is wrong, because the management should be based on professionalism and the independence of the best experts in this field. Of course this brought politicization more than was needed and many shortcomings and incoherence throughout this process,” Meta said.
In his view, it could have been done much more in time on the issue of vaccination
because the support for coping with the pandemic was not adequate compared to other neighboring countries, as in terms of the health sector, increase of investment for it, as well as support for small or medium enterprises.
According to the Bank of Albania, over 50,000 citizens have lost their jobs during the pandemic situation.
In the meantime, Prime Minister Edi Rama announced on Sunday that thanks to receiving the first dose of the antiCovid vaccine, 369 doctors are now more protected from the virus.
Rama also announced that the vaccination process will continue week after week and this process will gradually expand./argumentum.al