Romania might have to destroy 8 mln COVID vaccine doses that nobody wants, health minister says

Romania has 8 million COVID-19 vaccine doses that it might have to destroy once they expire as neither the population nor other countries are interested in them, health minister Alexandru Rafila said. And according to him, this would translate into additional costs for the country.

"We have more than 8 million vaccine doses in warehouses for which there is no longer any interest. And I'm not just referring to the interest of the population, I'm referring to anyone's interest, either to buy them or to receive them for free. So no one wants to even get them for free. This will also lead to additional costs because at some point when they expire, we have to destroy them," minister Rafila told news channel Antena 3, according to G4media.ro.

On the other hand, according to Alexandru Rafila, Romania "saved" EUR 150 million at the beginning of this year by selling unused vaccine doses.

"We achieved something important when we managed to sell 7.5 million doses. So we saved around EUR 150 million. We sold them at the same price they were purchased," he explained.

He believes that last year, Romania undertook to buy too many vaccines, which could never be used.

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/George Calin)