ACTING PRIME MINISTER AURELIU CIOCOI SAYS MOLDOVA WILL BUY VACCINES FROM DIFFERENT MANUFACTURERS

Acting Prime Minister Aureliu Ciocoi has said that Moldova will buy vaccines from different manufacturers. As Infotag reports, he stated this on Wednesday evening on TV8.

According to Ciocoi, he was not aware of the timing of the delivery of the Sputnik V vaccine to Moldova, which Russia had promised to provide as humanitarian aid.

“The Ministry of Health is negotiating with Russia on this matter. We do not yet have official confirmation of when the vaccine will arrive. In parallel, we are negotiating the purchase of the vaccine. For this, we hardly found money in the budget,” Ciocoi stressed.

The acting Prime Minister denied the assertions of the leader of the Socialists, Igor Dodon, that “Moldova is going to buy one million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine for 180 million lei.”

“We are negotiating with different manufacturers whose vaccines are approved in Moldova. Currently, four vaccines have been approved for use - AstraZeneca of South Korean production, Astra Zeneca of Indian production, Pfizer and Sputnik V. The work is underway to authorize other vaccines. In particular, the approval for the use of the Chinese vaccine Sinovac in Moldova is currently being prepared. I can say unequivocally that we will purchase the vaccine not from one manufacturer, but from different ones - so that people have the right to choose,” the official emphasized.

Answering questions, he also said that “the government is in favor of providing the possibility of vaccination on a commercial basis, but the procedures take time.”

“I really hope that all legal problems will be resolved by the end of April. But I'm not sure that private companies will be able to find affordable lots of vaccine very quickly,” Ciocoi concluded.