Health Minister Venko Filipche said the first batch of about 833 thousand vaccine doses is expected to arrive via the COVAX facility in late January or early February, as announced in a letter received Thursday.

In step with the readiness of the country’s health system, Filipche added, North Macedonia would be among the first to get the vaccine via this facility.

According to the letter, he noted, the first vial of COVID-19 vaccine will arrive from Pfizer, while the next one considered is the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

“Apart from the information that a certain amount could be expected in late January or early February, there’s no information on the exact amount, as is the case for all countries within the COVAX system. I expect this to be the next step,” Filipche told reporters.

According to the Health Minister, the country has applied with all the documents in terms of readiness, including the analysis and the evaluation of our system carried out with the World Health Organization (WHO).

“We applied to be included in the first group of countries to get the vaccine, in line with the readiness of our system in terms of the requirements for -70 degrees storage, distribution and administration through health centers. Application deadline is January 18, when all countries, according to the WHO evaluation are ready and can apply, so it remains to be seen exactly when the shipment would arrive,” Filipche said.

North Macedonia is set to get 833 thousand vaccine doses for over 400 thousand citizens via the COVAX facility. In addition to these, the country will get about 800 thousand vaccine doses through a direct agreement with Pfizer, as well as certain amount via the EU’s solidarity mechanism.

Health Minister Filipche added that overall, this would mean that 1.2 million citizens in the country could receive the vaccine, which is almost 60 percent of the population, and should be enough to achieve herd immunity.