As Covid-19 morbidity and pandemic change, vaccines are mainly recommended for priority groups such as seniors and people with chronic diseases.
However, the agreements concluded provide for Latvia to purchase vaccines for under €60 million, although so many vaccines are no longer needed.
Minister for Health Līga Meņģelsone said that calculations are currently being made in Latvia to understand what is more beneficial – to terminate the contract or purchase vaccines.
But this is not just Latvia's problem. The possibility of terminating or changing the terms of contracts is addressed at the European Commission level.
"These talks are going on literally every day and we are, of course, and our specialists are informed about these talks, because this is happening at European Commission level, at Commissioner level, with Pfizer. In any case, the first success is that the [purchase] has been postponed for four years; the other is volume and the third is price. Whether it works exactly to that extent, is the current issue,” said Meņģelsone.
The Minister said that at present risk groups needed 300 thousand vaccines. Until December 2022, Latvia had already donated around 2.5 million vaccines worth EUR 22 million to other countries.