Is Poland to buy Chinese vaccines against Covid? The talks are under way. What about European supplies?

The catastrophically low rate of supply of Covid vaccines under the EU agreement is prompting also Polish authorities to consider buying the Chinese product.

President Andrzej Duda held a telephone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping; at the request of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, the president raised, among other issues, the possibility of Poland purchasing COVID-19 vaccines produced in China

— said the president’s minister Krzysztof Szczerski.

The PRC leader Xi Jinping stated in a telephone conversation with President Andrzej Duda that China attaches great importance to relations with Poland and is willing to strengthen them, providing Poland with vaccines against Covid-19 and supporting the import of Polish agri-food goods

— reported China’s Xinhua news agency.

However, the Polish health minister points out that the vaccine is not currently approved for the Polish market.

Until such tests are completed, there is no possibility that Polish patients would be exposed to any risk

— said Adam Niedzielski.

Niedzielski added that the surveys also show that the general public is reluctant to be vaccinated with non-EU products which are not certified according to European standards.

There is also one positive piece of news - the first information about the declaration of deliveries in the second quarter, in fact in April, by the largest producers, is already emerging and it looks very optimistic. So it seems that there is no threat that the vaccination campaign in Poland will not be increasing systematically

— said Niedzielski.

Tłum. K.J.