Health Minister Adam Vojtěch (ANO) said on 6 October 2026, in response to a question from the Czech News Agency, that the state will no longer procure the COVID-19 vaccine from 2027. The State Institute for Drug Control (SÚKL) is to assess its benefit and determine any reimbursement from public health insurance or the amount of the co-payment. This was stated at the ministry's press conference by Matyáš Fošum, deputy chief public health officer.[1][2]
New procedure
According to Fošum, the law on public health insurance now contains a mechanism for health technology assessment (HTA) of the cost-effectiveness of vaccines. The manufacturer or its representative in the Czech Republic can ask SÚKL to assess the benefit and set the reimbursement; SÚKL prepares an evaluation report and assesses, for example, effectiveness for health care and for the public health system.[1][2] Vojtěch said: "We are leaving the post-COVID mechanism, it will become a standard vaccine in the system."[1][2]
So far, COVID-19 vaccines have been covered from public health insurance for everyone who wants them, while insurers pay for influenza vaccines for people over 65.[1][2]
This season and purchases so far
For 2026, when deliveries from the original joint EU order end, 900,000 vaccines will be available, according to the ministry. Less than a third of them were used in the last season.[1][2]
The Czech Republic ordered COVID-19 vaccines in 2020 and, according to the ministry, has paid 19 billion crowns for them so far. It took 41 million doses, of which it used less than half, about four million were donated to other countries, and more than 18 million doses worth eight billion crowns were destroyed because they had expired.[1][2]
In the first year of broad availability of vaccination, more than 15 million doses were needed, a year later only a fifth of that. Between 2022 and 2023, demand fell by more than 80 percent, and in the following years by roughly a third each time. This year, 1,500 doses had been used by 26 July; people mostly get vaccinated in autumn.[1][2]
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Chronology
- — Health Minister Adam Vojtěch announced on 6 October 2026 that from 2027 the state will no longer procure the COVID-19 vaccine, and that the State Institute for Drug Control will assess its possible reimbursement from public health insurance. ČTK / České noviny Echo24
Sources
- ČTK / České noviny — 6 October 2026
- Echo24 — 6 October 2026