The British Embassy in Tirana has not had any confirmation from Albanian authorities as to whether foreign residents in the country will receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Answering questions sent by Exit, they said that they are following the vaccination programme and are awaiting confirmation about the various phases of vaccination for their citizens resident in Albania.
They added that most countries are vaccinating foreign residents alongside citizens and they hope that this will be the case in Albania. The Embassy stated that they are considering what action to take if the government decides not to vaccinate foreign residents. This could include lobbying the host government.
In the case where vaccines are not provided for residents in Albania, the Embassy said there are no plans to roll out the UK’s NHS vaccination programme to residents abroad.
A spokesperson for the government said that whether foreign nationals will be vaccinated and whether they will be vaccinated in groups along with the rest of the population, or as a separate group, was still in the planning stage.
There are currently some 14,000 foreigners living and working in Albania. There are also those that have retired and others that fall into various high-risk categories.
