VOA Reports Rama Challenges Brussels Hinting to Look for Chinese or Russian Vaccines

In an effort to ensure massive protection of the population against coronavirus, Albania may also turn to the accession of Chinese or Russian vaccines.
At least this was hinted on Monday by Prime Minister Edi Rama during a statement in Brussels when he said that his country is looking beyond the already desirable sources of vaccines, while he did not deny such a possibility on Tuesday but avoided giving further explanations.
So far, over 14,000 vaccines have been made in Albania.The authorities have stated that they have secured a periodic supply from Pfizer & BioNTech, while Covax announced on Tuesday that Albania will be supplied with 120,000 doses of Astrazeneca vaccine in May.
At a time when austerity measures are not yielding lasting effects and the situation of the spread of Coronavirus continues to be worrying, the vaccination process remains the safest mechanism to combat the pandemic.
Prime Minister Edi Rama said on Tuesday that his dream and ambition is to maximally facilitate the tourist season and to promote Albania as a country with very low risk in relation to the virus as a result of an intensive campaign that will cut many links of the infection chain.
Mr. Rama acknowledged, however, that everything would depend on the amount of vaccines the country could guarantee.
It seems that the difficulty in securing the vaccines that have so far been approved by the specialized American and European authorities may lead Albania to turn a blind eye to Chinese or Russian products, although until recently this possibility was ruled out.
On Monday in Brussels, where he was to attend the meeting of the EU-Albania Stabilization and Association Council, the issue of vaccines, as the Prime Minister himself stated, had been a long-discussed topic. In the press conference with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Rama made it clear that he is looking for other vaccine opportunities. “Although it was not our best choice, we are looking beyond the already desirable sources of vaccines,” said Mr. Rama.
While on Tuesday, when asked about this statement, and the fact whether they had started concrete contacts for Chinese or Russian vaccines, the Prime Minister chose not to give further explanations. “Allow me not to make any comment,” replied Mr. Rama.