The pace of vaccination against Covid-19 has dwindled quickly. Therefore, there is still a large number of newly imported vaccines in storage rooms, which are now approaching their expiry date. For these vaccines stored in the company's Magnum Medical warehouse refrigerator, the expiry date is until August 31. It is clear that in Latvia they will not be used. In order for the drugs not to go to waste, they will be donated to other countries.
The logistical coordinator of the National Health Service (NVD) Vaccination Project Division Armīns Kalniņš said: “Tunisia will receive these vaccines on Monday, so they have almost a full month to use this quantity.” Tunisia is experiencing a rapid increase in morbidity and hospitalization, its vaccination proportion is critically low, with a rate not exceeding 8.2% of the population, said NVD. Through the European Civil Protection Mechanism (EUCPM), Tunisia has submitted a request for assistance to the European Union. The vaccines donated by Latvia to AstraZeneca are particularly necessary for the second dose of the Tunisian population.
Overall, the government committed to donating 165 thousand doses of AstraZeneca vaccines to other countries. In terms of money, this donation is worth around €300,000.
Over 50,000 doses were sent to Tunisia on Wednesday, but soon another 30,000 will travel to Moldova, as many to Albania, and a further 55,200 vaccines will travel to Kenya.
In addition to the 165,000 doses of AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines have also accumulated in storage units, which will expire on 31 October. If vaccination rates do not increase in Latvia, the government will also have to decide on the donation of these vaccines in the coming months. Georgia and Ukraine have shown an interest in the possibility of obtaining vaccines.
