Lithuanian presidential office urges to tighten control of COVID-19 vaccination process

VILNIUS – The Lithuanian presidential office has urged to tighten control of coronavirus vaccination process in response to reports that some people could have been vaccinated for COVID-19 out of turn.

“Really unpleasant cases of vaccination abuses have come to light in recent days and it looks like certain persons receive vaccine shots much earlier than scheduled, bypassing those who are certainly in a bigger need of that vaccine,” Simonas Krepsta, a presidential adviser, said at a news conference on Monday.

President Gitanas Nauseda on Monday met with Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte and Health Minister Arunas Dulkys to discuss ways to prevent abuse, the adviser said.

According to Krepsta, the president praised the measures taken by the Health Ministry on Sunday to address vaccination abuses but warned that those measures were insufficient.

“Going forward, when vaccine shots will be given to a much bigger number of people, at least three additional steps must be taken,” he said.

In particular, the adviser mentioned the rollout of an electronic system for a more systematic check of vaccination process and sequence, clearer vaccination guidelines and better coordination of the entire vaccination system.

Meanwhile, the health minister said that the process of vaccination was generally smooth. He also pointed out that controls should not lead to a slowdown in the rates of vaccination.

The media has recently reported that some medical workers and medicine-related business people received COVID-19 vaccine shots even though they were not in a priority group for vaccination.