Sweden will buy extra Covid-19 vaccines through the EU’s procurement agreement in order to resell them to Norway and Iceland, reports NRK.
Minister of Health Bent Høie (H) confirms to NRK that Norway is not allowed to buy vaccines through the EU vaccine agreement. But Sweden has made the other EU member states release around 3 percent of their vaccines so that the EEA countries can also buy.
– “Sweden buys more doses than we are entitled to, to sell to Norway and Iceland. That is the practical way we solve this. It is clear that all member countries have agreed to share their doses,” says Sweden’s vaccine coordinator Richard Bergström to NRK.
The European Commission has entered into a purchase agreement with the pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, and is negotiating with three other manufacturers to buy vaccines for the citizens of the union.
– “I feel very secure that Norway is taken care of, but it requires extra work on Norway’s part, and that we have good friends in the EU system. There is a considerable amount of work being done by the Norwegian Foreign Service now,” says Høie.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
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