Government hesitation will result in Slovakia getting 70,000 fewer vaccine doses in April
The Health Ministry admitted to not taking all opportunities to buy Pfizer vaccines. In February, it thought Slovakia had enough vaccines, but then companies began cutting back on their supplies. Now the ministry is trying to re-open talks and buy some more; Pfizer confirmed the talks are taking place. The hesitation will result in Slovakia getting 70,000 doses fewer in April compared to the situation if it had acted promptly. Deliveries in later months will also be lower. The Ministry says that this year, Slovakia will get 5.8m vaccine doses from Pfizer, 1.5m doses from Moderna and 3.6m doses from AstraZeneca (two doses are required; these doses will vaccinate 5.5m people), plus 2.4m Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccines. Matovič also promised 2m Sputnik vaccines.
