Austria is the first country to respond to Romania’s call for immunoglobulin following the launch of the European Civil Protection Mechanism, Minister of Health Sorina Pintea told a Tuesday’s press conference.
“Last night we decided to launch the Civil Protection Mechanism for immunoglobulin. This means that we current do not have any immunoglobulin dose left in the country. We have patients who have been waiting for this treatment for a long time. (…) This mechanism means that our application reaches an electronic system from where the connected states take the information and give us the quantities that Romania needs at this moment. I can tell you that we already have a response from a [EU] member state. We have contacted them and asked for some additional data on the features they still needed. It is about the Red Cross in Austria. We already have the first reply,” Pintea announced.
She said that the Secretary of State in the Ministry of the Interior Raed Arafat, who is in Brussels at a NATO meeting, submitted a request for immunoglobulin also to the member countries of the North Atlantic Alliance.
“Every year, Romania needs 956 kilograms of immunoglobulin, a necessary substance that last year was not insured. This year sporadic amounts have been secured, although the Romanian Government has suspended the application of the clawback for plasma and blood products and derived products for two years. It has been a helping hand. This mechanism solves the situation in the short term or we hope that it will solve it, that we will be able to acquire the necessary quantity for our patients,” said Minister Sorina Pintea.
