Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg thanked NATO and medical personnel from the Polish Medical Emergency Detachment (P-MED) on Wednesday (24 March 2021) for their support in vaccinating military and civilian staff at NATO Headquarters in Brussels against COVID-19. Mr. Stoltenberg was joined on a visit to where the vaccinations will take place by Poland’s Foreign Minister, Zbigniew Rau.
The Secretary General said: “I am grateful for Poland’s support to the vaccination programme at NATO Headquarters. As a military Alliance, NATO has unique requirements when it comes to maintaining functionality of the Headquarters. This effort helps to secure NATO’s essential functions and contributes to our readiness and increased resilience as an Alliance. Poland is a strong and reliable ally that has provided support with medical equipment, personnel and expertise to many other allies and partners from the start of the pandemic.”
As a demonstration of Allied solidarity, Poland has supplied doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to be administered in a joint effort by NATO and the Polish authorities. NATO has been working closely with the Belgium authorities since the start of the pandemic and remains in close coordination with the Host Nation. Poland’s assistance will help ensure NATO’s essential work continues and will also help ease the burden on the Belgian healthcare system.