EU health ministers call for increased vaccine production, shorter delivery times

  • 2021-01-14
  • BNS/TBT Staff

VILNIUS – EU health ministers have called for increasing COVID-19 vaccine production and shortening delivery times, the Lithuanian Health Ministry said on Thursday.  

Lithuanian Health Minister Arunas Dulkys and his EU counterparts discussed vaccination issues at their informal virtual meeting on Wednesday.

The ministers noted that the pace of vaccination was accelerating, but called on vaccine manufacturers to increase production and shorten delivery times so that the pandemic could be dealt with more quickly, according to the ministry. 

"Solidarity, transparency and the efficiency of our joint work, a stable common procurement mechanism and the proper implementation of preliminary purchase agreements are very important for the whole of the EU," Dulkys said in a press release.  

"We expect that the European Commission will continue its efforts to increase production capacity and provide additional doses of vaccine to EU member states. It is also important to shorten vaccine delivery times," he said. 

Dulkys briefed his counterparts on Lithuania's vaccination program and reminded them of an initiative of Lithuania and 12 other EU member states to help the Eastern Partnership countries to secure access to COVID-19 vaccines.

Other EU health ministers also underlined the importance of international solidarity in making vaccines available to countries outside the bloc, according to the press release.