Romania has sent a second batch of 50,400 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to neighboring Moldova on Saturday, March 27.

The first donation of 21,600 vaccine doses was shipped at the end of February.

This second batch allows Moldova to “continue and accelerate the vaccination process, so as to protect the lives of as many citizens as possible,” the country’s president Maia Sandu said in a Facebook message.

“Each batch of vaccine the Republic of Moldova receives fuels our hope that we will stop the pandemic and that we are approaching the day when we can return to normal. Countries with high vaccination rates have managed to reduce the number of seriously ill people and deaths. This is what I want for the Republic of Moldova too!” Sandu said.

Romania promised 200,000 vaccine doses to Moldova as part of a support package announced at the end of last year when president Romanian Klaus Iohannis visited the neighboring country. Prime minister Florin Citu said that other batches of COVID-19 vaccines would be sent to Moldova “in the coming period.”

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Facebook/Maia Sandu)