Nicolas Maduro Offers Oil to Pay for COVID Vaccines
Nicolas Maduro President of Venezuela leaves a press conference in Miraflores Palace on February 17, 2021 in Caracas, Venezuela. Nicolas Maduro President of Venezuela announced the country will start vaccinating health workers from Thursday with the Covid-19 Vaccine Sputnik V. Carolina Cabral/Getty Images

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has presented an alternative way to pay for COVID-19 vaccines as his country faces a second wave of coronavirus.

The Venezuelan President has suggested paying the said remedy for the deadly disease with Venezuelan oil. According to an AFP report, Nicolas Maduro offered oil for COVID-19 vaccines, noting that Venezuela "has customers ready to buy oil" from them.

"It would devote part of its production to obtain the vaccines it needs. Oil for vaccines!," Nicolas Maduro said during a television appearance on Sunday.

Nicolas Maduro's offer follows Facebook freezing his page after promoting an oral solution that he claimed to be an effective remedy against coronavirus.

Because the Venezuelan President's claims were not backed by science, according to experts, the video was taken down by Facebook. His page was locked for 30 days, not allowing him to post while the ban is in effect.

Nicolas Maduro on COVID-19 Vaccines

Although Nicolas Maduro has already planned on using Venezuelan oil as payment for the vaccine, he only provided few details regarding his plans or if it will work.

According to Reuters, the Venezuelan President was working to pay for COVID-19 vaccines from the World Health Organization's (WHO) COVAX mechanism both through oil shipments or Venezuelan funds frozen in overseas accounts due to sanctions.

The WHO's COVAX mechanism provides COVID-19 vaccine access to developing countries.

The country's oil crisis came after Washington sanctioned state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela in 2019. It cuts off Venezuela's exports to the U.S., preventing many other customers from buying Venezuelan oil as well.

Nicolas Maduro said the country is ready and prepared "for oil for vaccines." However, he pointed out that they would "not beg" anyone to do it.

Washington has labeled the Venezuelan President to be a dictator who manipulated the 2018 election to win another term and violated human rights.

Nicolas Maduro refuted the allegations, saying that the Washington is seeking to expel him to control the country's oil reserves, the largest in the globe.

COVID-19 Vaccines in Venezuela

As of March 28, the WHO has recorded a total of 154,905 COVID cases in Venezuela with 1,543 deaths. So far, the Venezuelan government authorized only the vaccines from Sputnik V and the Chinese company Sinopharm for its COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

The country recently announced that they would not authorize AstraZeneca to be administered in the country. According to an Al Jazeera report, Venezuela based its decision on the suspension of the vaccine brand in several European countries due to its side effects.

It can be recalled that many EU countries were alarmed by the blood clot reports after administering AstraZeneca to several patients. But American health experts were skeptical about the EU countries' decision, saying that it will affect the vaccination program in the U.S.

WATCH: AstraZeneca Update: Venezuela Denies to Authorize the Jab - From WION