Mateusz Morawiecki held talks with Pfizer executives after the European Union earlier this week struck a deal to buy up to 300 million doses of a potential coronavirus vaccine from the American pharmaceutical giant.
Morawiecki said that a model of vaccine distribution was discussed during Friday’s meeting.
"We want to be ready immediately - that's why several weeks ago we started government preparations, and today we established a working group with Pfizer experts. I'm sure that Poland will be perfectly prepared for the fastest possible distribution of the vaccine to everyone who wants it," Morawiecki said.
He hailed the expected vaccine as a “triumph of science over the epidemic.”
Deliveries of the Pfizer vaccine are expected to start by the end of this year, assuming it is cleared by regulators and approved for general use.
The deal with the EU comes after Pfizer and BioNTech announced on Monday that their experimental COVID-19 vaccine was more than 90 percent effective based on initial trial results.
Poland on Friday reported 24,051 new coronavirus infections and 419 more deaths, bringing its total number of cases to 665,547 and fatalities to 9,499.
Morawiecki said on Monday that millions of vaccines against the coronavirus were likely to reach his country next spring as part of the European deal with drug makers.
He added that the vaccine would be made available to citizens on an optional basis and be first administered to senior citizens, healthcare professionals and law enforcement personnel.
(pk)
Source: PAP