Former minister Rafila explains the refusal of payment to Pfizer: “This decision was far beyond the powers of the Ministry of Health”
The former Minister of Health, Alexandru Rafila, said on Wednesday that he could not accept the version by which the Romanian state would have paid between 160 and 170 million euros to Pfizer, in the form of a “flexibility fees” for undelivered anti-COVID vaccines, citing lack of legal basis.
The former Minister of Health, Alexandru Rafila. PHOTO: Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea
He told Digi24 that the current situation, which involves a total obligation of approximately 600 million euros, originates from a contract signed in May 2021 by the former Minister of Health Ioana Mihăilă, together with the former Prime Minister Florin Cîțu and the Deputy Prime Minister at the time, Dan Barna.
Rafila explained during the show that there was a contractual option through which Romania could have paid approximately 10 euros for each undelivered vaccine dose, instead of paying the full value of the contracted 16 million doses. This option would have reduced the costs to around 160-170 million euros, but would also have required the obligation to purchase other vaccines in the next four years.
“This decision far exceeded the powers of the Ministry of Health. I could not choose for 3 reasons. The first: the contract had been signed by the minister, the prime minister and the acting deputy prime minister at the time. In the mirror, when you change this contract, you had to inform the prime minister (Nicolae Ciucă-ed.) to make a decision”, said Alexandru Rafila.
He emphasized that the payment of such an amount for undelivered products had no legal support in Romanian legislation and would have required the adoption of an emergency ordinance, as well as the identification of funds from the state budget.
“There wasn't even the money in the budget of the Ministry of Health to make this payment possible. So from the Government's reserve fund… There is no legal way. No one could give a receipt for payment”, he also said.
In the same context, documents obtained by Digi24 show that the members of the Government were already aware of the risks generated by the contract with Pfizer in 2023. Although the responsibility would have been passed between institutions, including the Ministry of Finance and the Prime Minister at the time, Nicolae Ciucă, a final decision should have been taken at the level of the Ministry of Health.
Currently, the authorities are trying to renegotiate the situation. The Minister of Health, Alexandru Rogobete, announced that he will hold discussions with Pfizer representatives in Washington, together with the Minister of Finance, Alexandru Nazare.
According to him, the Government is trying to transform the amount owed into innovative medicines for cancer patients and those with rare autoimmune diseases. “It will be an exploratory discussion,” stated the minister.
