Administering the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech to frontline healthcare workers began today at Air Albania stadium, where the vaccination site has been set up.
In the meantime, administering the first dose to around 1000 other healthcare workers is also underway after the first batch of the Pfizer vaccine arrived last night. Vaccination rollout for thousands of health professionals is expected to begin within February under the contract with the pharmaceutical company Pfizer.
Prime Minister Rama also received the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine today and issued a statement to the media.
-Mr. Rama, from today on, you could be considered fully immunized, which means you can normally go on with the electoral campaign normally?
PM Edi Rama: As far as we have learned, complete immunization takes a whole cycle, but it is crucially important that we have finally embarked on the contract execution phase with the pharmaceutical company Pfizer. The vaccine delivery that clears the way to the contract implementation arrived a day ago. Of course, if we are to look at the numbers only and we do not fail to see the entire panorama and the plan, then certainly the number of doses seem to be very small, but shouldn’t actually forget the fact that Albania is the only country after Serbia in the region that is on the contract execution phase and has launched the vaccination drive for doctors and nurses. Secondly, one should not forget that the overall situation regarding vaccination and the vaccine shipments throughout Europe is extremely chaotic. We have seen big countries, including the European Union, that have threatened legal actions against the pharmaceutical companies, as the demand is staggering and the supply is still very low due to the limited vaccine production.
Third, it was precisely last night when we received confirmation that Pfizer will deliver a shipment of over 10.000 doses by mid-February and more than 30.000 doses by end of February. This means that we are ready to administer the vaccine to all doctors and nurses and commence immunization program for the older adults, who fall into the category A and will be next in line to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
– When the vaccination process for the rest of the population is expected to begin?
PM Edi Rama: With the delivery of more than 10.000 doses, plus the 30.000 doses due to arrive by end of February, we practically enter the area of vaccinating the older adults. However, as I already explained, we are close to finalizing a contract with AstraZeneca to provide a considerable number of vaccine doses, which will become available soon. I believe we have all reasons to be optimistic that our plan on launching mass vaccination rollout for all citizens will work and the first scenario envisaging the vaccination plan to complete in 14 months is totally possible. In the meantime, the Ministry of Health has launched training program and two other vaccination sites respectively in Shkodra and Vlora are ready to start administering the vaccines. The vaccination process will then become capillary to include the whole territory of the country, because we can’t gather all people several few sites, but we will definitely provide this service.
–When the next shipments of over 450.000 Pfizer doses, as the company should actually deliver 500.000 doses under the contract, right? When the next shipments are expected to arrive? Will there be more deliveries in March or, as the contract stipulates, they will arrive between July and December 2021? Is there any deadline?
PM Edi Rama: Don’t refer to a handful of papers illegally extracted from a draft-contract, but, again be careful when you make the question. Don’t ask the same question consistently, because I have already stated that the contracts are flexible. Company Pfizer has secured full protection under the contracts it has signed with all countries in order to evade any potential legal repercussions in case of delivery delays. Therefore, it has left huge room to secure deliveries and abide by the contracts. However, the contracts are very flexible. Don’t forget that it is not Pfizer only. We haven’t let ourselves to rely neither on Pfizer nor on COVAX mechanism only. Don’t forget that we have made an upfront payment to the COVAX mechanism last year. Nothing is on the horizon yet. But we are negotiating on other COVID vaccines. This is a dynamic situation and we can receive fresh news at any moment. I am very confident that based certainly on the data we have from our communications, we will be able to progressively grow the number of the vaccines and the injected jabs.
– Is there any potential date when AstraZeneca vaccine could become available? Data from Italy and Germany suggest that the AstraZeneca vaccine won’t be administered to individuals over 65.
PM Edi Rama: If you really want me to involve in a conversation, I can sit right there, as I have to wait for at least 30 minutes after receiving the vaccine dose, and we can go on with this talk. I am saying that there are not fixed things and there are not fixed dates. It is a dynamic situation for everyone.
Let scientists deal with science, and don’t interfere in so complicated and delicate debates of scientific nature about on who the vaccine works and on how it doesn’t. It could happen that someone issues a statement, three others then appear to say a completely different thing, and five others follow the lead to say something else too and you can come across nine different theses in one day only. These are natural internal debates among those who deal with science. Our duty is to secure the vaccine. Taking the vaccine is not mandatory and it will be administered to everyone on their will. Nobody is obliged to receive it against their will. The vaccine is granted for free to everyone who wishes to receive it. What we certainly advise is that nobody should hesitate about vaccination. The reason I am here to receive the second dose today is to convey this message. As I have already promised, I will also make available the antibodies test to see whether the vaccine has been effective or not, whether it has been physiological water as some commentators claim, or it was a Pfizer vaccine.
It takes patience for everything else. We are really working day and night.
