Bulgaria will not re-negotiate new supplies of COVID-19 vaccines

Bulgaria and Poland will send a joint position to European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, regarding the contract for the purchase of vaccines against COVID-19.

In March, the government decided that Bulgaria would not join the re-negotiation and supply of new doses of vaccines. Polish Health Minister, Adam Niedzielski, is on a visit to Bulgaria on April 11, at the invitation of caretaker Minister, Assen Medzhidiev.

Poland was the first to support Bulgaria on the ongoing negotiations on vaccines. Both countries will also issue an open letter and an appeal to Pfizer/BioNTech for solidarity. Bulgaria has to scrap nearly 3 million doses this year alone, and separately another 650,000 doses have an expiry date of February 2024. Poland faces the same challenges.

"The Council of Ministers has taken a firm decision that Bulgaria will not join the re-negotiation and supply of new doses of COVID-19 vaccines. Bulgaria wishes to receive doses only when needed from now on, with Bulgaria determining the quantities needed and payment to be made upon delivery of such quantities. A huge number of vaccine doses have been scrapped. We have about 1.4 million doses that have been paid for but cannot be administered and will also have to be scrapped as there is no one to administer them to," said Assen Medzhidiev, caretaker health minister.

"Bulgaria and Poland have reached an agreement and have a common position on the re-negotiation of the terms of supply of vaccines against COVID-19. We believe that it is unacceptable to spend healthcare finances on vaccines that will not be used. We are considering a joint letter to Ursula von der Leyen as well as to Pfizer to appeal for their public responsibility", said Adam Niedzielski, Minister of Health of Poland.

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Bulgaria, Poland, Lithuania and Hungary urged the European Commission on March 14, 2023, for re-negotiation with Pfizer-BioNTech of the terms for the supply of COVID-19 vaccines.

In the joint call, issued as EU health ministers met in Brussels, the four countries insist on taking into account the needs and budgetary possibilities of all EU countries. They expressed concern at proposals made for a new addendum to the supply agreement, which they said was not a fair solution to the problems of surplus vaccines.

According to the four ministers, the European Commission should seek opportunities to further negotiate with Pfizer, particularly on non-delivery payments and on reducing the number of contracted doses.