16 EU countries, including Malta opt against ordering more Moderna vaccines
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Malta has opted against topping up its orders for more Moderna vaccines, according to documents revealed by the Hungarian Government.
The documents were released as the Hungarian Government sought to diffuse critiscm that it did not purchase as many Moderna doses as it could have, arguing it had done so because the doses would have arrived too late in 2021. Moreover, it insisted that it was not alone in taking such decision, listing 16 other countries that took the same route.
According to the document, 16 countries opted out of the vaccine top-up, including: Poland, Romania, Belgium, Greece, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Ireland, Lithuania, Slovenia, Latvia, Estonia, Cyprus, Luxembourg and Malta.
The European Commission has two contracts with Moderna for a total of 460 million doses. The Commission’s first contract with Moderna secured EU countries an initial 80 million doses, and included the option for countries to purchase an additional 80 million doses. The EU exercised this option in December.
Additional orders for Moderna would have arrived at a time when there would already be sufficient vaccines from other sources, a spokesperson for the Hungarian Government said.
