Kosovo said on Friday it agreed to buy 1.2 million Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccines, the first shots bought by the government as it works to speed up inoculations.
Kosovo so far has received around 180 000 vaccines, mostly from an EU-funded programme.
“Kosovo has secured 1.2 million vaccines in a deal with Pfizer,” Health Minister Arben Vitia told a news conference. “We are determined to continue with a much faster process to vaccinate 60% of the population by the end of 2021.”
Vitia said the rollout would be launched on June 15 with the goal of getting some 300 000-400 000 people vaccinated every month.
The country of 1.8 million people has registered 107 000 coronavirus infections so far and 2 242 deaths.
The infection rate has decreased significantly, with just 216 people testing positive and five dying in the past seven days.
The government on Friday eased restrictions by lifting a curfew and ending the mandatory wearing of face masks in the streets.
