Lithuania to give 200,000 Astrazeneca doses to Eastern European countries

Lithuania plans to provide 200,000 doses of the Astrazeneca vaccine against Covid-19 to nearby Eastern European countries to ensure they are not left behind in inoculating their populations.

The government plans to allocate 100,000 doses to Ukraine, 15,000 doses to Georgia and 11,000 doses to Moldova by autumn. It will soon decide on how to distribute the remaining doses.

Lithuania will provide the vaccine made by AstraZeneca, Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said, according to BNS news agency.

"The vaccination process is going quickly and smoothly in EU countries, but we will not be safe until our neighbours are safe. True solidarity is action," Landsbergis said. "We hope that other EU members will follow Lithuania's example." 

Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda praised the decision as "very good" and "timely," during a visit to Moldova.

He said the move would help the vaccination process, which has been quite chaotic here, he said in Chisinau.