Official: Serbia Seriously Preparing for Covid-19 Vaccination

Vaccination (Liam McBurney/Pool via AP)

Health Ministry State Secretary Mirsad Djerlek on Dec. 8 described the epidemiological situation in Serbia as difficult, adding that the country had been seriously preparing for Covid-19 vaccination.

Djerlek told TV Pink that action plans had been developed and that attention had been paid to facilities where the jabs would be stored and how vaccination would be administered.  

“What is most important is that we are awaiting a decision of the Serbian Medicines and Medical Devices Agency, which is one of the most rigorous institutions in East Europe,” Djerlek said.

Immunologist Srdja Jankovic on Dec. 8 said that vaccines had been tested and approved for use based on reliable studies, adding that the country of origin did not matter and that its origin should not be of concern to citizens. Jankovic also said that even with vaccination, there would be the possibility of contracting the infection, explaining that if a shot was 95 percent effective in preventing infections, there was still the remaining five percent for getting infections.

According to Jankovic, opposition to vaccines was expected as the majority of citizens were against jabs “for some ideological reasons and they see shots as some evil.” He stressed that it required nearly 70 percent of citizens to acquire immunity for to beat the coronavirus in a population.