Lithuania aims to purchase 600,000 tests as part of this procurement.
“Following the completion of public procurement procedures and the selection of suppliers, which, according to plans, will take place in late January, individual contracts for the purchase of these tests will be sent to member states for signing,” Lina Zimnickiene, an adviser to the press service of the ministry, told BNS.
The Commission had signed a framework contract with Abbott and Roche allowing the purchase of over 20 million rapid antigen tests for up to 100 million euros, financed by the Emergency Support Instrument (ESI), she said. From early 2021, these tests will be made available to member states, as part of the European Union’s (EU) strategy to COVID-19 testing.
According to the ministry’s representative, tests should be delivered to Lithuania and other member states which so wish in the first quarter of this year.
Tests would be distributed among member states on the basis of the data from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) taking into account the number of healthcare workers in each specific country, Zimnickiene said adding that the ministry had not yet been notified about the precise number of tests set aside for Lithuania.
Lithuania has also decided to purchase rapid antigen tests independently. The National Public Health Surveillance Laboratory reported last week that its tender had drawn bids from 43 suppliers.
Three contracts for the purchase of these rapid antigen tests – a total of 300,000 – will be signed as part of this procurement process.