The Romanian authorities have signed the contract to acquire 109,000 doses of the immunization vaccines against measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR), health minister Florian Bodog on Friday.

The 10,000 doses that are already in the country will reach the family doctors this week.

Bodog said that all the future contracts for the purchase of vaccines would be signed for at least two years and maximum four years. This would allow to have a predictable vaccine supply and to avoid the current situation.

Romania is now going through a measles epidemic. The country has experienced shortages in the supply with the mandatory vaccines. Last week, the European Commission approved Romania’s decision to suspend the exports of vaccines against measles, mumps and rubella. Suspending the exports would guarantee the necessary doses of vaccines for the immunization of children in Romania, according to Romanian authorities.

The measles death toll climbed to 25 last week after a 2-year-old unvaccinated child from Bihor county died. More than 5,000 measles cases have been reported in Romania in the past year.

editor@romania-insider.com