The Lithuanian government has agreed to contribute 2.5 million euros to the EU's Emergency Support Instrument (ESI) to accelerate the creation of a Covid-19 vaccine.
ESI funds are used to support potential vaccine producers, and finance part of development as well as production capacity costs.
"This is not paying for the vaccine itself,” Health Minister Aurelijus Veryga told the Cabinet on Wednesday. “The European Commission is thus funding potential vaccine developers and giving them funds so as many vaccines as possible are developed and reach the final stages.”
Read more: Lithuania secures 1.8m coronavirus vaccine doses under EC deal
"Currently, 22 vaccine candidates meet the criteria set by the European Commission. Negotiations with some producers are ongoing, but talks with others haven't even started," he said. "Talks with seven potential producers are in advanced stages, and the Commission has already signed a preliminary agreement with one [potential provider]."
However, the Lithuanian government said it will assess other possibilities before providing additional funding.
Last week, the European Commission informed member states that the ESI funds earmarked for supporting vaccine producers were insufficient and that a total of 750 million euros in additional funds were needed to conclude talks with producers.
EU countries earlier agreed to support more vaccine developers by including vaccine candidates being developed based on different technological methods. The aim is to increase the chances of creating and purchasing an effective coronavirus vaccine as soon as possible.
The Commission has signed a preliminary purchase agreement with British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca which expects to be among the first to start producing a Covid-19 vaccine.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
