EU co-ordinating the urgent delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to Moldova

Today, a consignment of 21,600 doses of COVID-19 vaccines is being delivered to Moldova from Romania to support the country's response to the pandemic. This delivery follows Moldova's request for vaccines through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, to which Romania has responded rapidly with this offer.

Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, said: “I thank Romania for its generous and rapid offer to Moldova. The EU Civil Protection Mechanism continues to facilitate solidarity during the current pandemic. It is only through cooperation and mutual support, within the EU and also outside, that we can have an effective response to COVID-19. Supporting vaccination globally is essential for containing the COVID-19 pandemic: no country in the world will be safe until everyone is safe.”

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Moldova has already received a range of other offers coordinated through the Mechanism:

• 8 million items including surgical masks, FFP3 masks, protective suits and gloves offered by Romania;
• 55 ventilators and 405,000 items of surgical masks, protective gloves and protective suits sent by Czechia;
• almost 57,000 items of protective face shields and disinfectant liquid made available by Poland;
• more than 6,000 items of examination gloves, hand disinfectant and blankets offered by Austria.

The EU Civil Protection Mechanism has coordinated and co-financed the delivery of over 15 million items of assistance to 30 countries to support their COVID-19 response, be it personal protective equipment, ventilators, the reinforcement of medical staff, or, more recently, vaccines. The first vaccine delivery under the mechanism was facilitated last week, when the Netherlands sent 38,610 doses of COVID-19 vaccines, together with other vaccination tools, such as syringes and needles, to the 3 Caribbean islands of Aruba, Curaçao and Sint-Maarten in response to their request for support.

In addition to the coordination of requests and offers made through the Mechanism, the EU also finances up to 75 % of the costs for transporting the assistance.

Background

The EU Civil Protection Mechanism is one of the tools that has been instrumental in providing support to countries requesting assistance during the coronavirus pandemic. Through the Mechanism, the EU is helping coordinate and finance the delivery of medical and protective equipment and material across Europe and the world, to countries that seek assistance.

In addition, the EU's rescEU medical reserve and the Emergency Support Instrument (ESI) have provided additional key support to Member States' health response to the pandemic.