During a press conference today, Prime Minister Edi Rama said that the COVID-19 vaccination will not be mandatory in Albania.
He said that he is “fighting” for it to be free and that those who want it will not have to pay for it.
Last week, Rama was in the United States meeting with the Executive of vaccine manufacturer’s Pfizer. Following the meeting, he said he had “opened a communication channel” with the company, adding that the vaccine was in “high global demand”.
He promised that Albanians will have access to the vaccine by February and that he was trying to meet with the heads of Moderna and Astra Zeneca.
It’s not known if anything tangible came out of the meetings other than “opening communication channels. Rama did not disclose whether he was able to secure any vaccines, how many, at what price, and when they would be delivered.
Albania is part of the Gavi vaccine alliance, an alliance of 80 countries, including the EU member states, that have allied to provide their citizens with the fastest secure way to procure the vaccine.
The Prime Minister did not explain why his meetings with company executives are necessary, seeing as no other national leaders seem to have pursued a similar strategy of obtaining the COVID-19 vaccine.
