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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

120,000 more doses of AstraZeneca vaccine arrive in Serbia

Belgrade, 12 May 2021

Minister of Health Zlatibor Loncar welcomed today together with Head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Office in Serbia Marijan Ivanusa and Representative of the UNICEF Office for Serbia Deyana Kostadinova a new delivery of AstraZeneca vaccines through the COVAX programme.

Loncar said at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport that the 120,000 doses that arrived today will be used mostly for revaccination of the citizens who received the first dose of that vaccine, starting as soon as tomorrow.

He urged again all citizens to get vaccinated because that is the only way to return to normal way of life and travels and underlined that all vaccines in Serbia are good and safe, and that AstraZeneca is the vaccine that is used the most and is most widespread in the world.

The Minister recalled that Serbia paid €2 million through the WHO for the development of AstraZeneca coronavirus jab in May and June 2020.

According to him, Serbia set aside the largest amount of money for that purpose of all countries in the Western Balkans.

He specified that in October last year Serbia paid almost €5 million to the COVAX programme for 1,312,000 shots, of which 75,000 doses arrived until now, and another 120,000 today.

Loncar voiced hope that the rest will arrive soon and expressed gratitude to UNICEF and the WHO on cooperation that resulted in the sufficient amount of vaccines.

We continue to take care of citizens, and they should only follow the guidelines of medical experts and that is to get a coronavirus shot, Loncar underlined.

Kostadinova congratulated the Serbian government on the excellent vaccination process and timely procurement of the doses, noting that the current situation shows that safe and effective vaccines are the key factor in the fight against the coronavirus.

The UNICEF Representative in Serbia underlined that vaccines save lives and that they are not important only in the fight against the coronavirus, but that it is also important to carry out routine immunisation of children against measles and polio, despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

We cannot allow a new outbreak of a life-threatening disease such as measles, which is why routine immunisation of children is important, Kostadinova underlined and called on citizens to have their children vaccinated regularly.

Ivanusa noted that Serbia established the vaccination system pretty fast, which is working perfectly and is organised in an excellent way from Belgrade to each village, which enables the availability of vaccines to all those who need it.

He underlined that it is seen both in the world and in Serbia how mass vaccination can have an important impact on the course of the epidemic and how it can bring us back to normal life.

Ivanusa called on citizens to get vaccinated and strictly follow all public epidemiological measures.