The Institute for Viral Medicine, Vaccines and Serums Torlak from Serbia will no longer import vaccines to BiH because it lost its certificate in Serbia, which means that they no longer have a license to place vaccines on the market of BiH. However, the competent institutions state that there is no reason for concern and that the regular immunization will be continued as well as that there are valid permissions for placing vaccines with the same content but from other manufacturers.
It is not known from where the vaccines will be imported, nor how much they will cost.
Torlak Institute had a license for the import of five types of vaccines, which are vaccines against tuberculosis and against diphtheria and tetanus for children and adults.
“The Public Health Institute of the FBiH has sufficient quantities of these vaccines, so there will be no interruption in the program of mandatory immunization of children. Other institutions are involved in the process of procurement of vaccines, besides the Public Health Institute of the FBiH, and the Institute already conducted necessary activities in order to prevent a shortage of vaccines and interruption of the program,” as stated from the Public Health Institute.
From the Public Health Institute of the RS noted that they procured their vaccines through regular tender procedures for the period 2016 – 2018.
The Institute for Viral Medicine, Vaccines, and Serums Torlak, which is the main importer in BiH, lost its production license in Serbia, it does not have a certificate of compliance with good manufacturing practice and it cannot compete for registration of medicines on the market.
Domestic production would be an ideal solution for this issue, but BiH currently has no capacity for that.
(Source: A. Z./Klix.ba)
