The Bulgarian government decided at a session on Tuesday to donate a portion of every order of COVID-19 vaccines to North Macedonia. This means vaccines will be available here at the same time as in EU member states. As an EU member Bulgaria had the privilege to negotiate directly with suppliers. Thanks to this act of friendship, we’ll start the vaccination process shortly and facilitate access to shots with the aim of immunizing 60-70% of the population, Health Minister Venko Filipche said.
He paid a visit to Sofia on Tuesday, at the invitation of Bulgarian PM Boyko Borissov and Health Minister Kostadin Angelov, during which he addressed the government session.
According to Bulgarian health authorities, the first vaccine expected to arrive in the country is the one produced by Pfizer, followed by Moderna and AstraZeneca, the Health Ministry said in a press release.
“We’re doing this out of the goodness of our heart and have no hidden agenda. I hope that next year, we’ll find a solution with Zaharieva and Karakachanov regarding North Macedonia’s EU integration,” Bulgarian PM Borissov told the government session.
Bulgarian Health Minister Kostadin Angelov noted that the decision aims to demonstrate solidarity in managing the crisis brought on by the pandemic.
“We have an opportunity to re-sell and donate COVID-19 vaccines. In that regard, after national needs are covered and appropriate agreements signed, we’ll supply shots for the citizens of North Macedonia,” Angelov stressed.
Aside from the donation from Bulgaria, North Macedonia has also procured shots through the COVAX mechanism. The European Union has ordered 400 million vaccines for member states and 100 million more for other countries to get shots through member states.
Thus far, Greece and Poland have offered assistance in the process. North Macedonia is also negotiating with vaccine producers to procure shots directly from them, the press release read.
