Romania faces €600M Pfizer-BioNTech bill for unused COVID vaccines
Romania may be forced to pay approximately €600 million to the pharmaceutical company Pfizer-BioNTech for doses of the COVID-19 vaccine ordered during the pandemic but never used, Agenzia Nova reported.
A Belgian court upheld a first-instance decision deemed enforceable by the Bucharest authorities, according to Radio Romania.
The Romanian Minister of Health, Alexandru Rogobete, explained that the sum, approximately €600 million, excluding any late payment interest yet to be calculated, will have to be paid even if the ministry's current budget does not contain available funds.
The penalties will be communicated later. According to Rogobete, the payment will likely be covered by the state budget, with the involvement of the Ministry of Health or the Ministry of Finance.
"This is an executive measure: regardless of any appeal, Romania will have to pay this sum. If the country wins the appeal, the funds will be returned," the minister stated, further specifying that at the height of the pandemic, the Romanian authorities had ordered a number of doses exceeding the population's needs.
Specifically, a third contract for 39 million doses was signed in May 2021, but these were never requested or delivered, as millions of doses from previous contracts were already unused.
Earlier, Qazinform reported that study found no link between COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy and autism.
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