The Chinese company Sinovac, which produces the vaccine CoronaVac, was the only company that accepted to discuss the possibility of selling the vaccine against COVID-19 with the Republic of Moldova. Ninel Revenco, coordinator of the national vaccination campaign, assured that the CoronaVac vaccine that the authorities would like to purchase is safe even if its efficiency in the case of mild forms of COVID-19 is of only 60%, IPN reports.
According to Ninel Revenco, no vaccine producers responded to Moldova’s requests to sell vaccines as the demand on the international market is extremely high.
“The Chinese company Sinovac was the only vaccine producer that accepted to discuss with us. We are at the stage of negotiations. It was only agreed that we will discuss directly with the producer, avoiding any kind of intermediation. We didn’t discuss a lot of 400,000 doses and didn’t reach an agreement,” Ninel Revenco stated in the talk show “Emphasis on Today” on TVR Moldova channel.
Public health expert Ala Tocarciuc said the probability for Moldova to sign contracts with large vaccine producers is very low.
“When the vaccines were being developed in 2020, many countries invested in the invention of vaccines and at the second stage already signed contracts, paid money in advance and protected themselves against some shocks. All the producers have to honor their obligations in accordance with the already signed contracts. Furthermore, particular shocks were avoided by the COVAX platform, also with payment in advance. Imagine that the Republic of Moldova comes with a contract for 1 million doses to a producer that already signed contracts for the whole 2021. Surely, the Republic of Moldova will meet with refusal,” stated Ala Tocarciuc.
Even if some studies show the CoronaVac vaccine has low efficiency, immunization experts say that to diminish the burden borne by the health system, there should be no serious forms of COVID-19.
“The vaccine went through all the authorization stages in its country. We first of all consider the vaccine’s safety and this vaccine is safe. CoronaVac turned out to be 100% efficient in the case of serious forms, less efficient in the case of medium-grave forms and 60% efficient for mild forms. If we look at the other vaccines, the data are similar. It is important not to develop serious forms and to avoid intensive care,” stated Ninel Revenco.
The CoronaVac vaccine produced by the Chinese company Sinovac is already used in such countries as Ukraine and Turkey even if it is at the final stage of approval at the WHO.
