prijava
SARAJEVO, March 31 (FENA) - Direct purchase of coronavirus vaccines from manufacturers can and should be done by the competent health authorities of the entities and Brčko District on the same principle as they procure all other vaccines for regular vaccination of the population, said the Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH MCA).
This was an answer to FENA's question to that competent state ministry whether BiH intends to start the process of direct procurement of vaccines from the state level since BiH does not have a ministry of health at the state level.
They note that the Republika Srpska has already started the procurement of vaccines, and all activities of the Ministry of Civil Affairs are conducted following the Constitution of BiH and applicable laws, and they coordinated the procurement through international mechanisms.
“Furthermore, the authorities at the state level cannot create financial obligations to other levels of government,” the Ministry claims.
In addition to FENA's statement that the Council of Ministers has been asked to start the process of direct procurement of vaccines from the manufacturer Pfizer, which negotiates only with countries, the Ministry points out that it will coordinate all activities requested and inform the competent health authorities.
When asked whether the Council of Ministers, at the suggestion of the Ministry as the competent institution, intends to form a body that would deal with direct procurement of vaccines from manufacturers based on the body formed by the Government of the Federation of BiH, the Ministry said that they only coordinate activities in the field of health.
About 90,000 doses of vaccines have arrived in Bosnia and Herzegovina so far. These are 30,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines donated by the Republic of Turkey, 26,400 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines and 23,400 doses of Pfizer vaccines that arrived through the COVAX mechanism, and the Republic of Serbia donated 10,000 doses of Covishield vaccines to BiH.
Since not enough vaccines have been provided in BiH, the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina have taken the opportunity to be vaccinated in the neighboring Republic of Serbia, but Council of Ministers Chairman Zoran Tegeltija (SNSD) does not feel responsible, although he says he is not happy about the situation.
He says that the main problem with the insufficient amount of vaccines is the fact that pharmaceutical companies do not respect their agreements related to the purchase of vaccines, reminding that BiH signed an agreement for the purchase of vaccines in September 2020, and they were paid before the New Year.
(FENA) A. B.
