Hope for vaccines: Aggravation of the pandemic situation in Albania

On Monday evening, (01.03) at the international airport “Mother Teresa” in Tirana, arrived 15,210 vaccines BioNTech & Pfizer, this following the direct agreement of 500,000 doses between Albania and this company. So far, 22,230 doses of anti-Covid vaccine have arrived in Albania from this agreement.

The process of vaccinating the population began in mid-January last year with teams of doctors and nurses in anti-Covid hospitals, those in emergency services and is continuing according to the strategy of the health authorities with the elderly segments of the population. Prime Minister Edi Rama, who received the newly arrived quantity of vaccines at the airport, announced the arrival of other deliveries soon. “From BioNTech% Pfizer arrive in April, another 30 thousand doses. “Meanwhile, we have confirmed the first 4,000 doses from Covax to enable intensive vaccination of the population and break the chain of infection”, said Prime Minister Rama.

Official sources from the Institute of Public Health informed DW that Albania has signed with COVAX, an agreement for 1,114,000 (one million one hundred and fourteen thousand) doses of vaccines, prepaid with a fund of 3.9 million dollars . In addition to direct agreements with BioNTech & Phiser and COVAX, Albania has also reached bilateral agreements with other manufacturers of anti-Covid-19 vaccines, which have passed the filter of strict regulators such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicine Agency, ( EMA)

Health authorities: Aggravated but under control situation

The arrival on Monday of 15,210 anti-Covid vaccines coincides in time with an aggravation of the epidemic situation in Albania, characterized by the onset of young ages. February closed with a record number of new infections and casualties since the pandemic began in March last year. During February, 423 people lost their lives, bringing the total number of victims to 1,816, a significant figure for the population of 2.8 million inhabitants of Albania. The graph of increasing the number of victims in 24 hours continued on the first day of March, where 20 people aged 48-85 lost their lives.

According to health authorities, 56% of the total number of infections are under the age of 50, of which 19% are in the age group of 30 to 39 years. Among the victims in February were people under the age of 18, the hotspots, described as “red”, have expanded to include not only Tirana but also Fier, Durres, Vlora, Shkodra, Lezha, Gjirokastra, Elbasan and Korca. According to the Institute of Public Health across the country there are positive cases. There are about 108 thousand positive cases in Albania, among which about 36 thousand are active.

The situation in anti-Covid hospitals in Tirana and regional ones is aggravated. Health authorities claim that there is a significant increase in patients who have reached over 660 people, of whom 43 are in intensive care and 11 intubated.

Despite the growing schedule of new positive cases and casualties in 24 hours, health authorities consider the situation under control. An appointment scheduled for Monday, (1.03) of the Technical Committee of Experts did not take place. According to the health authorities, the restrictive measures so far have yielded positive results as the above mentioned data are considered in the extreme limits of the norm and the situation is still affordable. The beginning of spring gives hope for the reduction of virulence as the weather is expected to warm up, the authorities reason.

But worry about hard times remains present. Health authorities warn that if mass immunization of the population is not achieved by the autumn of this year through intensification of vaccination, the restrictive measures, which are expected to be eased in the spring and summer months, will be reinstated. The aim is to break and drastically drop the chain of new infections to create the conditions for Albania to be open during the tourist season summer 2021./DW/

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