Health Minister Venko Filipche said on Thursday that North Macedonia will receive 500,000 doses of China’s Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday (June 27) and another 100,000 Pfizer vaccines through the COVAX facility on Friday (June 25).

He also said that vaccines will be stored in the vaccine warehouse in the Jane Sandanski Polyclinic and Institute for Forensic Medicine. He expected the vaccines to be distributed across the country from the beginning of next week, after obtaining permission to release the batches from the Medicines Agency.

“Two planes carrying 250,000 doses of China’s Sinovac vaccines each, will arrive by on Sunday at 2 pm and 6 pm at Skopje International Airport. They will be stored in the vaccine warehouse in the Jane Sandanski Polyclinic and Institute for Forensic Medicine, which have enough capacity to store vaccines in cold rooms. Immediately after receiving the marketing authorization to release the batches by the Medicines Agency, hopefully on Monday or Tuesday, vaccines will be distributed across the country,” Filipche told reporters.

Filipche held a meeting with the directors of the Health Insurance Fund Stevo Krstevski and Faton Ahmeti, the president of the Independent Trade Union for Health, Pharmacy and Social Welfare Dr. Ljubisha Karanfilovski and representatives of the Association of Nurses, Technicians and Midwives, at which they agreed nurses and technicians to receive higher pay for completed higher education as of September.