Serbia is at the top of Europe and the world in terms of the number of vaccinated people, Slovenia and Croatia complain about insufficient amounts of vaccines, and Montenegro, Kosovo and North Macedonia are waiting for the first doses and do not even know the exact date of their arrival.
Serbia is in second place in Europe and seventh in the world, with more than half a million vaccinated citizens, and its citizens can currently choose between three manufacturers - Fajzer/Bajontek, Sputnjik VI Sinofarm.
Neighboring Albania is the only one besides Serbia to start immunization against the coronavirus thanks to bilateral negotiations. Prime Minister Edi Rama said that they ordered half a million doses from the manufacturer Pfizer/Bajontek, and the first 975 doses arrived as a donation from one of the European Union (EU) funds.
"If we had waited for COVAX, we would still be waiting and no one knows how long it would take," said Rama.
For BiH and North Macedonia, there are no official data on the start of negotiations with producers, while the new Minister of Health, Jelena Borovinić Bojović, announced in December that only the new Government has started negotiations - supposedly, with all producers. Borovinić-Bojović announced last Sunday that all the countries of the region negotiated vaccines in the summer months, which was not denied in any of the reactions to the claims she made in the show "Reflektor" on TV Vijesti.
"Vijesti" interlocutors claimed that Montenegro, together with some countries of the Western Balkans, relied only on the COVAX mechanism, which aims to provide poor countries with equal, quick and equal access to vaccines, while little attention was paid to the importance of diplomatic relations and personal acquaintances in the fight against the coronavirus. Through the COVAX mechanism, until now, no neighboring country has received the first doses.
The Minister of Health of Serbia, Zlatibor Lončar, did not answer yesterday to the "News" when the Republic of Serbia started the negotiations, with which producers and how long they lasted, as well as to what extent the personal connections of statesmen, members of the Government and President Aleksandar Vučić, influenced the fact that citizens receive timely more types of vaccines in sufficient quantities. He previously said that the contract with Pfizer was signed during the summer of 2020, and that they were among the first countries in the world to do so.
It is still not known when the first vaccines will arrive in Montenegro, and it is expected that it will be Sputnik V, in the first delivery of five thousand doses of the 50.000 that have been agreed for the first quarter and another 50.000 in the second quarter. The Ministry of Health announced that Pfizer's vaccines should arrive at the beginning of March and that 150.000 doses have been requested, and the same amount is expected from the Chinese Sinofarm and the potential delivery date should be the end of February or the beginning of March.
The former government will not talk about negotiations
Former Minister of Health Kenan Hrapović did not answer the questions of "Vijesti" about the activities he undertook in connection with the procurement of vaccines against the coronavirus, as well as whether, as the first person in the health department and on behalf of the National Coordination Body for Infectious Diseases, he negotiated with manufacturers, when and with whom .
He signed an agreement on behalf of Montenegro at the beginning of October, according to which the country should receive guaranteed doses through the Covax mechanism.
The Government then announced that the estimated price per dose is 8,84 euros and that in the confirmation of its intention to participate in the Covax mechanism, Montenegro expressed the need for 248.800 pieces, which is enough to immunize 20 percent of the population.
"I just signed the Agreement, and today an advance in the amount of 771.280 dollars, or 646.000 euros, will be paid," Hrapović said then.
After coming to the post of Minister of Health, Jelena Borovinić Bojović said at the end that the reason for waiting for vaccines in Montenegro is that the previous government did not conduct any bilateral negotiations with manufacturers, except for the signing of the COVAX initiative, which was also threatened.
Borovinić Bojović told "Vijesti" on Friday that the financial guarantee of 99,520 dollars was the second obligation that had to be fulfilled in order to confirm participation in the COVAX program and reiterated that it was not paid on time, thus calling into question the Memorandum.
"The new convocation of the Department of Health from December 4, 2020, immediately after taking office, with the help of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reacted quickly and the state guarantee was paid on December 15, practically right before the end of the deadline that was stipulated in the contract. Therefore, the guarantee was a necessary condition in order to adequately provide the vaccine through the COVAX mechanism," she said.
Hrapović previously claimed that there were legal obstacles when it came to issuing a risk-sharing guarantee. He said that, after several inquiries and frequent communication with representatives of the Global Alliance for Vaccines (GAVI), Montenegro was enabled to pay the guarantee in cash only on December 10. Through the Covax program, 84.000 AstraZeneca vaccines were approved for Montenegro.
Delivery of 25 to 35 percent of vaccines is expected in the first quarter, and the rest in the second quarter.
"By the end of March, 21.000 to 29.000 doses should be delivered, and the rest by June," State Secretary of the Ministry of Health Borko Bajić told "Vijesta" earlier.
EU members will not want the Chinese and Russian vaccine
Unlike the countries of the Western Balkans, EU members could not directly negotiate with vaccine manufacturers.
Croatia even suspended immunization two weeks ago, and yesterday vaccination started because the distribution of 25.200 doses of the vaccine began, most of which are produced by Astra Zeneka, and the rest by Moderna.
"The contract says that we cannot enter into negotiations bilaterally, while the EU is negotiating. As for Russian and Chinese vaccine manufacturers, they are seeking separate registration. As far as I know, the Chinese have shown no desire to move towards the EU," said Krunoslav Capak, director of the Croatian Institute for Public Health, adding that Croatia does not plan to enter into negotiations with Russia and China.
The Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia, Gordan Grlić Radman, told Večernji.hr that the timely and fair distribution of the vaccine is for the benefit not only of EU citizens, but of the entire international community.
"In the fight against covid-19, it is important to maintain unity and solidarity within the Union, which we demonstrated in the previous phase, when the EU invested 2,7 billion euros in research and development of the vaccine against the coronavirus and agreed on a timely joint approach to the procurement of the vaccine, as well as its rapid and proportionate delivery to all member states", he said when asked if the EU will maintain unity or, like Hungary, will try to procure the vaccine on its own.
Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša also said that the system of joint procurement and distribution of vaccines for EU members through the European Commission is good and equal, even if it caused dissatisfaction in some countries, especially larger ones, considering the quantities they have received so far.
The members received the same number of doses in the first shipments, so Germany, which has a population of 80 million, and Slovenia, which has a population of two million, received the same amount, Janša said in an interview with Slovenske television. He pointed out that some members have started bilateral negotiations, "which is questionable considering the limited production and high demand". Janša also said that he "knows about some countries in Europe that have ordered vaccines from Chinese and Russian manufacturers, but that he does not know of any that actually vaccinate the population with them."
Minister: WHO does not recognize donations
Borovinić Bojović told "Vijesti" that the Government did not reject the donation of Petros Statis in the form of 10.000 doses of the Chinese vaccine, but allegedly accepted the position of the World Health Organization (WHO).
"Regarding the donation of Mr. Petros Statis, the Government did not reject the donation, but, according to the recommendations and guidelines of the WHO, accepted the opinion on the non-recognition of the donation by a natural person when it comes to the vaccine against SarsCov2 anywhere in the world, especially considering the specificity of vaccines, special conditions which refer to their transport and storage", she replied to "Vijesti". She said earlier that they were warned that the negotiations could be jeopardized.
The head of the WHO in Montenegro, Mina Brajović, did not answer yesterday whether this recommendation is in force. "Vijesti" interlocutors, who insisted on anonymity, claim that it is not binding and that the Government can find a mechanism for the donated vaccines to reach Montenegro.
State Secretary in the Ministry of Health Borko Bajić said on January 15 that a sufficient number of vaccines had been contracted to cover the priority groups and that "there is no need to donate anything in that sense." A day later, the Minister announced that the Government already had "other offers for this type of vaccine procurement" but that in the interest of public health, "they decided that vaccines will only come to Montenegro through direct connections and international bilateral agreements". She explained that in the case of a donation, Montenegro would definitely check its quality.
After about fifteen days, Borovinić Bojović proposed to Statis to give the vaccine to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which will perform quality control, and then donate it to Montenegro. Statis' company Adriatic Properties said that the UAE is not a distributor and donor and that it cannot be demanded of them. They pointed out that the only obligation of Statis is to pay and reserve the vaccines and clarified that G42 is an official distributor, which expects contact from the official representatives of Montenegro.
An agreement with Poland has not yet been reached
The Minister of Health could not tell "Vijesta" when and how much Astra Zeneka vaccine Poland will cede to Montenegro.
"In friendly and bilateral talks with representatives of Poland, we received a positive response about their willingness and intention to give us the surplus of AstraZeneca vaccines that arrive in Poland through the COVAX initiative, but we cannot talk about details and quantities in light of the fact that challenges are happening globally and every day with the production and distribution of vaccines at all levels. If and when an agreement is reached, the public will be informed," she said.
Borovinić Bojović previously accused Hrapović of only responding to the first email from the Polish embassy, on August 18 last year, when they offered Montenegro to purchase vaccines. She claimed that after that the Polish embassy sent a new email with additional explanation and questions on August 20, to which the former minister, she says, did not consider it necessary to answer. Hrapović announced that they expected feedback on the price at which Montenegro could buy vaccines and in what quantities, but that they did not receive an answer until the end of the mandate of the previous government.
Selected doctors evaluate who receives which vaccine
Although it was announced in the middle of last month that they would make an effort for citizens to choose the vaccine, at the beginning of February representatives of the health system announced that this was still not possible.
Borovinić Bojović replied on Friday that the citizens will receive the vaccine in accordance with the expert recommendation, in relation to the specifications of the vaccines that will be available, and based on the expert assessment of the selected doctor on the patient's health condition.
"Our intention and intention is to provide as many vaccines as possible from different manufacturers, especially respecting efficiency, quality and safety, but we must also take into account the fact that we are part of a global community that faces challenges in distribution and production, and we must adapt to the given circumstances," she said.
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