The Bosnian government on Thursday denounced delays in the global Covax vaccine scheme, as the coronavirus epidemic worsens in the country which has received very few inoculation doses.
The poor Balkan nation has suffered a fresh flare-up of Covid-19 cases, with the toll now standing at over 5,000 dead among the 3.5 million population.
The government said it had been informed by the Gavi from the Covax scheme that manufacturer Pfizer is seeking further consultations with Bosnian authorities on the cooling chain and administrative procedures for delivering the vaccines.
The Pfizer jabs must be kept supercooled in transit and storage to remain effective.
But the Bosnian authorities have dismissed what they see as a pretext for delaying the delivery until April of doses due to arrive in the first quarter of the year.
So far Bosnia has received just 2,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, which it ordered directly.
“It’s not true that Bosnia lacks the capacity to take charge of the vaccine. It’s just an excuse,” said Milorad Dodik, the current holder of Bosnia’s rotating tripartite presidency.
After meeting with other national leaders he evoked the possibility of suing the Covax management for damages “if the agreed deadlines are not respected”.
On Wednesday Ghana became the first country to receive vaccines from the Covax scheme, paving the way for poorer nations to catch up with inoculation drives in wealthier parts of the world to stamp out the coronavirus pandemic.
Launched last April, Covax has said it plans to ship two billion doses by year’s end.