Editor’s note
Prime Minister Edi Rama has broken out the news that Albania is ready to get Chinese and Russian anti – Covid vaccines as most of Europe is doing but the Chinese vaccine is not available in the market.
“It is not that the Chinese vaccines have spread on the market and we are not buying them. We will leave everything else for the vaccines, but there are none, they are not available,” Rama said in a meeting with citizens of Lezha, a seaside town in northwestern Albania, on Sunday.
Rama said that almost all of Europe and the world are having difficulty in securing anti-COVID vaccines. The Prime Minister stressed that the vaccine market is not cheap and it is very difficult to secure the vaccines.
He mentioned the example of Germany, which, according to him, is negotiating with China and Russia for the vaccines produced by them.
“Europe has started to think and some countries like Germany, which is its locomotive, have started to open the dialogue with China and Russia. It seems unbelievable but true. It is unimaginable that the richest continent on the planet is in this situation. It seemed unbelievable when the pandemic outbreak hit all the states and brought all the states to their knees. So it is with the vaccines,” he said.
The Prime Minister underlined that most of the vaccines have been distributed among 10 countries worldwide, while added that Albania expects news very soon regarding the provision of the necessary doses of vaccines. However he didn’t provide any precise figure of the expected supplies.
“It’s important to do what we need to do for the people. There are a lot of people who think that it is a geopolitical issue that we do not get Chinese and Russian vaccines. Vaccines are not yet available in the market; they are not. Those who have them are in short supplies just for their needs. It is a time when Europe does not have all quantities of vaccines today. America does not have vaccines in stock, it produces vaccines.”
Further on Rama said he was proud that Albsnia is not in the conditions of those countries including the region, which have not made any shot. “We have vaccinated doctors, 80 years old people, but we are moving forward. 140 countries around the world have not started vaccination yet.”
Sunday’s revelation of PM comes at a time when a large part of medical experts and media circles have called strongly on his government to act swiftly to secure other suppliers for the vaccines as the pandemic situation is worsening in Albania and it’s a lost time waiting for Western vaccines. They have urged PM to consider the Chinese and Russian vaccines as a breakthrough to get out of the frightening situation when the number of fatalities keeps increasing daily in this Balkan country with a debilitated medical network.
Figures show that the number of those vaccinated amounts to around 15,000 people in Albania against the background of unkept promises for vaccine supplies during these days when there’s no news that the vaccination ‘campaign’ continues.
To justify the shortages of vaccines PM told Lezha citizens that it is unimaginable that a country like Saudi Arabia doesn’t help anyone. “We are talking about one of the wealthiest countries in the world.”
PM closed the talk with Lezha people saying: “I am fully confident that we will do something and will do it soon!”
China has said it is supplying “vaccine aid” to 53 countries and exports to 27 others. It remains to be seen the course of the procedures by Albania to secure Chinese vaccines but it should be recalled that considerable amounts of anti – Covid supplies for the health system have been welcomed by Albanian medical authorities during the last year.
Deputy health minister Mira Rakacolli, who is also head of the Committee of Experts, has usually received the deliveries of Chinese medical aid along with the Chinese Ambassador to Tirana, Zhou Ding, at the Rinas Airport, appreciating highly the contribution at those hard times for Albania.//argumentum.al
