Prime Minister’s claims relate to unclear plan to vaccinate against coronavirus in the country
Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins expressed no confidence in Health Minister Ilze Vinkela on Tuesday. The head of government’s claims are related to an unclear plan for coronavirus vaccination in the republic.
“Latvia has been battling the COVID-19 pandemic for a long time and is at a crucial stage in this fight, which makes it clear that the only way to ease restrictions, return to normal life and resume targeted development is to immunize society as quickly as possible. At its core, there must be a clear and publicly comprehensible plan for vaccine availability. Already since the second wave of the pandemic, we have struggled with the consequences of the lack of a clear and understandable plan of action when we could have acted quickly and proactively. The consequences have been interpretations and misinformation, which have affected all of us as a society; it cannot go on like this”, – Kariņš’s office reports.
The head of government said that the vaccine availability plan is a national document and a national priority. The document is supposed to answer the main question – how to ensure the accessibility of vaccines to the population in the shortest possible time and how the logistics and communication can be organized efficiently. All institutions close to the population, including municipalities and family doctors, should be involved in the development of the plan and its coordinated implementation.
“Given all these circumstances, I have decided to express my lack of confidence in the minister, of which I am informing my coalition partners. In the government team, I am waiting for someone with a clear vision on how to convincingly lead and give new impetus to our fight against the pandemic”, – the prime minister said. In line with the ruling coalition’s cooperation agreement, Karins called on the For Development/Za! association, which Vinckele represents, to nominate a new candidate for the post of Health Minister.