European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi and the Federal Minister for European and International Affairs of the Republic of Austria Alexander Schallenberg will deliver today the first contingent of vaccines against COVID-19 for Bosnia and Herzegovina from the European Union.
As previously announced in Vienna, Bosnia and Herzegovina should receive 10,530 Pfizer vaccines in the first procurement contingent through this European mechanism.
The vaccines will arrive at Sarajevo Airport.
Earlier, The European Commission and Austria announced the conclusion of agreements for the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines for the Western Balkans. The 651,000 BioNTech/Pfizer doses are funded by the European Commission and will be shared with the facilitation of Austria. The first delivery to all the partners in the region is due in May, with regular tranches to continue until August. The largest number will arrive in BiH, 214,000 doses.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said: “It is crucial to speed up the vaccination campaigns everywhere. I am happy to announce that we have secured doses to help vaccinate health care workers and other vulnerable groups in the Western Balkans. The European Union stands by our partners in the region, who have been looking to us for support. I want to thank Austria for facilitating this transfer, showing its firm commitment and solidarity with the Western Balkans”.
Enlargement and Neighbourhood Commissioner, Olivér Várhelyi, added: “Despite the current global shortage, the EU will deliver life-saving vaccines for the Western Balkans. We have provided support from the start of the COVID19 pandemic: First, with emergency medical equipment like masks, ventilators, intensive care units
Austrian Foreign Minister, Alexander Schallenberg, stressed: “It is a top priority to make COVID-19 vaccines rapidly and comprehensively available to people across Europe. Against this backdrop, supporting the Western Balkans to obtain vaccines is an act of European solidarity and
Austria has facilitated the sharing of these vaccines through legal arrangements with the producer and the Western Balkan partners. The doses are funded from the EUR 70 million
The overall distribution between countries will be based on the epidemiological needs,