Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Zoran Tegeltija said today after meeting with the FB&H Prime Minister Fadil Novalić and the RS Prime Minister Radovan Višković that B&H will start procuring coronavirus vaccines directly from manufacturers.

As he confirmed, at the meeting they summarized how ready B&H is for the arrival of the first vaccines and the beginning of vaccination, and they also discussed the problems that arose in that process, as well as the difficulties within the two mechanisms under which B&H has agreed to purchase the vaccines.

-B&H has accepted that the pandemic is a global issue and that the vaccination process should be treated in that way. We have procured the necessary vaccines through the COVAX mechanism - 1,232,000 doses of vaccines, as well as the distribution among the entities, the money has been paid, but there is still no delivery- said Tegeltija.

He stated that the situation is similar when it comes to the procurement of vaccines through the supply mechanism of the European Union, through which B&H has ordered 892,000 doses of two types of vaccines.

The vaccination process was expected to begin in the first quarter of this year. Tegeltija reminded that many countries have started the vaccination process, but none of the systems of supply that B&H has signed to have started distributing those vaccines.

The COVAX system gathers 186 countries that have ordered vaccines. B&H expects them at the end of January and the beginning of February, as well as all other countries that ordered vaccines through that system, and when it comes to vaccines that should come through the European Union mechanism, more information will be known after today's meetings in Brussels.

-When the vaccines come to B&H, everything will be ready to start the vaccination process. Due to these delays, we decided to go into the process of direct procurement of vaccines from other manufacturers, namely Pfizer, Russian and Chinese manufacturers- Tegeltija explained.

He noted that tomorrow the entities and the Brčko District should put in writing the need for the vaccine beyond these channels that have already been agreed upon. The B&H Ministry of Civil Affairs will consolidate this data and the procurement of these vaccines will be initiated.

He expressed confidence that the COVAX system would meet its obligations in the delivery of vaccines as well as the EU mechanism, but given the delays, they decided to embark on a complicated process of direct negotiation with manufacturers.