Pressed for answers after his humiliating failure to provide coronavirus vaccines, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev today said that he is in talks with the Pfizer corporation, and expects the first doses in February. If it happens, it will be up to two months after most neighboring countries already began vaccinations.

The purchase contract is for 833,000 vaccines, sufficient for 400,000 citizens, Zaev said. Days before, his Healthcare Minister Venko Filipce refused to give the amount of vaccines Macedonia will receive, citing a request from Pfizer to keep it a secret.

Zaev said that Macedonia is applying for additional 800,000 doses through an EU mechanism, and that some countries, such as Bulgaria, will give part of their doses to Macedonia.