It is expected the country to get the COVID-19 vaccine in January or February considering the current state of play, Health Minister Venko Filipche stated Tuesday.
After AstraZeneca, the company Pfizer has also applied at the European Medicines Agency, said the Minister.
According to him, the procedure to issue a permit for use takes several months and once all clinical trials are completed, administrative procedures begin.
“I believe the Agency will approve them [vaccines] by the end of the year before they are allowed to be distributed. We expect to get them via the COVAX facility since both of them are part of this mechanism. After getting an approval, the doses are equally distributed in all the countries that are involved,” Filipche said.
The government, he noted, has signed an agreement, funding has been secured and we expect to be provided with the vaccines through the COVAX facility.
Speaking to reporters in Skopje, Minister Filipche said North Macedonia was also offered by Poland and Greece. “At their meeting in Thessaloniki, PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis at this meeting with PM Zoran Zaev demonstrated good will offering the country a chance to be part of their procurement of the doses, since Greece, as EU member, will directly procure the vaccine through the company AstraZeneca,” he stated.
