Lithuania aims to start mass vaccination by June 1 – official

  • 2021-04-03
  • BNS/TBT Staff

VILNIUS – The Lithuanian government expects to start mass vaccination against COVID-19 by June 1, an official said on Friday. 

"The course of vaccination depends heavily on vaccine deliveries. We expect mass vaccination to begin by June 1, but I can't say for sure now that it's going to happen on June 1," Giedre Balcytyte, the chancellor of the government, told a news conference.  

A mass vaccination campaign will involve administering around 3 million shots to 1.5 million people, she noted.  

"People will have to know which vaccine, when and at which site will be administered and if they'll be able to come. The use of communication and information technologies is very important in this process. Ensuring their reliability is key," the official said. 

Next Wednesday, the Cabinet is planning to adopt decisions on the further organization of the process, according to Balcytyte.

The chancellor said she did not know yet if a centralized nationwide registration system would put in place for mass vaccination. 

A total of 349,930 people in Lithuania have received their first coronavirus vaccine shots so far and 168,740 percent have been given the second jab. 

The country has received a total of 642,365 vaccine doses and has used 533,670, based on the latest statistics.