The cancellation of the tender for 100,000 BCG vaccine doses does not in itself mean that the vaccine is unavailable in every maternity hospital in Romania. At the beginning of September 2026, 36,200 doses were in the system, according to the Ministry of Health. The practical issue, however, is distribution: 28,500 doses were already with vaccinators, while 7,700 were in the warehouses of public health directorates (DSPs), from where they can be moved to areas with greater need.
For parents who have been told that their child’s vaccination will be rescheduled, the key information is this: the Ministry of Health has said that newborns who were temporarily left unvaccinated will be caught up, and healthcare facilities and doctors must arrange appointments. As of 15 September 2026, the institution had not published a firm timetable in its statement for completing the new procurement procedure, nor a centralised breakdown of stocks by county or maternity hospital. Availability must therefore be confirmed locally.
For more information about the Ministry of Health, see also The probable food poisoning outbreak in Saturn: what inspectors found in food and what remains unclear, which provides complementary details on this subject.
What happened with BCG procurement
On 9 September 2026, the Ministry of Health said that the BCG vaccine procurement procedure had been cancelled after the supplier submitted incorrect documents concerning the product’s price. The institution said it would restart the procedure for 100,000 doses.
This is an important detail for interpreting the situation correctly. A cancelled procurement procedure is an administrative problem that may delay a new batch entering the public supply chain. It is not automatically evidence that all doses already distributed were exhausted on the same day.
In its statement, the Ministry also said two things: the supplier has the required quantity in stock, and “rebalancing” between DSPs will take place until the new procedure is completed. In other words, doses already in the country and in the public network are expected to be moved to where local shortages arise.
However, the official statement does not specify when the new procedure will be published or completed, when the 100,000 doses could actually be delivered, or how many doses are available in each county. These three pieces of information make the difference between a national announcement and the answer needed by a family whose appointment has been postponed.
The 36,200 doses: why the national figure does not show whether a maternity hospital has vaccine
The Ministry reported 36,200 BCG doses in stock at the beginning of September. The announced allocation explains why availability cannot be assumed from a distance:
| Location reported by the Ministry | Number of doses | Share of total | What this means in practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| With vaccinators | 28,500 | approx. 78.7% | Doses already delivered to the vaccination network; the statement does not break them down by maternity hospitals, practices or counties. |
| DSP warehouses | 7,700 | approx. 21.3% | The reserve that can be redistributed between counties, depending on demand and use. |
| National total | 36,200 | 100% | A stock snapshot from the beginning of the month, not a guarantee that every healthcare facility has doses available on the day it is contacted. |
The calculation shows that nearly four out of five reported doses were already with vaccinators. This indicates that not all facilities were starting from zero, but it does not support the conclusion that the vaccine was available everywhere. One maternity hospital may have doses while another may need a redistribution, and the situation can change rapidly through vaccinations, deliveries and transfers.
The 7,700 doses in DSP warehouses are the part of the stock that the Ministry explicitly identifies as the basis for rebalancing. This does not mean that every DSP automatically receives the same quantity. Redistribution is intended precisely to cover facilities or counties where vaccination at birth has been postponed.
There is another limit to interpretation: the stated date is “the beginning of September”, not 15 September. It would not be correct to present this figure as a real-time stock level. The Ministry promised ongoing monitoring, but did not publish a daily update or a stock map by DSP in that statement.
The timeline that explains why postponements occurred
- 10 July 2026: The Ministry of Health announced that delivery of 170,000 BCG doses was scheduled for the end of August.
- Beginning of September 2026: The reported national stock had reached 36,200 doses, including 28,500 with vaccinators and 7,700 in DSP warehouses.
- 9 September 2026: The Ministry announced the cancellation of the procurement procedure because of incorrect documents concerning the price, the restart of the procedure for 100,000 doses, and the redistribution of existing stocks.
- 15 September 2026: The most recent official announcement identified remains the one concerning the restart of the procedure; no completion date for the procurement or county-by-county distribution was publicly given.
The timeline also shows something else: it cannot be assumed that the 100,000 doses announced on 9 September are already in maternity hospitals. They are the quantity for which the procedure will be restarted, not a batch confirmed as having been delivered to the network at the time of the statement.
How children not vaccinated at birth will be caught up
Under the National Vaccination Schedule, BCG is recommended in maternity hospitals at 2–7 days of age. The vaccine is used to prevent severe forms of tuberculosis in children, including tuberculous meningitis and disseminated tuberculosis. The World Health Organization recommends administration as close to birth as possible in countries and areas with a high incidence of tuberculosis, but also states that if the dose cannot be given at birth, it should be given at the first available opportunity.
Romanian rules explicitly provide for catch-up vaccination: BCG can be distributed to family doctors or pulmonology dispensaries to vaccinate children who remain unvaccinated up to the age of 4. This provides a framework for catch-up vaccination and shows that an administrative postponement does not mean that a child has permanently lost the opportunity to be vaccinated.
The Ministry of Health has asked healthcare facilities and doctors to arrange appointments for children who are waiting. In practice, the specific approach may differ: some maternity hospitals may call families back when they receive doses, while in other cases a family may be referred to a family doctor, a DSP or a designated facility. The actual location must be confirmed by the institution that postponed the vaccination or by the county DSP.
There is no need to look for the vaccine in pharmacies or to buy a product from unofficial sources. The situation described by the Ministry concerns supply and distribution under the National Vaccination Programme, and the catch-up pathway must be established by the public vaccination network.
What parents who received a postponed appointment can do
A family does not need to wait passively if it has not been given a clear timeframe. The most useful approach is in this order:
- Contact the maternity hospital where the child was born. Ask whether it has BCG doses available, whether there is a catch-up list, and who will communicate the callback date.
- Ask for a precise answer on the pathway: will vaccination take place at the maternity hospital, with the family doctor, at a centre designated by the DSP or at a pulmonology dispensary?
- Check with the family doctor after discharge. The doctor can record the child’s situation, check the local vaccine pathway and indicate the next point of contact.
- If you do not receive a vaccination date or location, contact the county DSP. The useful question is not only “Is there vaccine?”, but “Which facility is currently vaccinating children born during the period when the maternity hospital did not have BCG?”
- Keep discharge documents and any rescheduling message. They help the facility handling catch-up vaccination identify the child and the period during which vaccination was postponed.
It is also reasonable for parents to ask whether the child’s details have been entered in the vaccination register, or whether they need to provide an updated telephone number themselves. The Ministry recommended appointments precisely so that catch-up vaccination can be organised and available doses are not wasted.
Useful questions to ask directly
- “Is my child on the BCG catch-up list?”
- “Where is vaccination currently being given for newborns discharged without BCG?”
- “Will you contact me, or do I need to follow up on a specific date?”
- “Is there an estimated appointment, or should I monitor DSP announcements?”
- “What documents should I bring to the vaccination appointment?”
A postponement should not cause alarm, but should not be ignored
BCG is not a vaccine that promises complete protection against every form of tuberculosis throughout life. Its important role in young children is to reduce the risk of severe forms. This is precisely why the official recommendation remains to vaccinate as soon as it becomes available, rather than abandon the appointment.
The public information available so far does not show an identical interruption across the entire country. It shows that a procedure for a new batch was cancelled while the system still had reported doses and the Ministry ordered their redistribution. For a family, the distinction is practical: the relevant answer is not the national figure, but confirmed availability in the county and the exact location where the child can be scheduled.
As the Ministry publishes details about the new procedure or DSPs announce the local resumption of vaccinations, these will be the details to follow. Until then, the quickest route is direct contact with the maternity hospital, followed by the family doctor and the DSP if no catch-up date has been communicated.
In administrative situations involving other health services, access to digital records and insurance status may be useful, but it does not replace communication with the facility organising vaccination. For context, the electronic identity card does not yet replace the health card, according to a recent clarification from the National Health Insurance House (CNAS).
Frequently asked questions
My child left the maternity hospital without the BCG vaccine. Do I have to restart the vaccination schedule?
No. BCG is a separate dose, and postponing it does not mean restarting the other vaccines. The maternity hospital, family doctor or DSP must indicate the place and date for catch-up vaccination.
Where can BCG be given if the maternity hospital has no doses?
Depending on local arrangements, catch-up vaccination may be provided at the maternity hospital, through the family doctor or at a pulmonology dispensary. The rules allow BCG to be distributed for catch-up vaccination of children up to the age of 4.
Are the 36,200 doses announced by the Ministry available in every county?
No. The figure is a national total reported at the beginning of September 2026. The Ministry said that 28,500 doses were already with vaccinators and 7,700 were in DSP warehouses; it did not publish the allocation by county.
Has a date been set for the arrival of the 100,000 new doses?
Not in the Ministry of Health’s statement of 9 September 2026. The institution said it would restart the procurement procedure, but did not give a public deadline for completion or delivery.
