Serbia sees vaccines as a health rather than geopolitical issue

A plane transporting one million doses of Chinese Sinopharm's COVID-19 vaccine arrives at Nikola Tesla Airport in Belgrade, Serbia, January 16, 2021. /Reuters

Serbia's Prime Minister Ana Brnabić contributed the country's success of fast rollout on mass vaccination to its views of seeing vaccines as healthcare and not a geopolitical issue during a video interview with Euronews on February 2.

Brnabić said: "I think Serbia was one of the few countries that looked on vaccine purchase and distribution as a healthcare issue and not a political issue. That's why we are that successful."

She also added the world would look different if every country shares such a view.

Serbia received

one million

doses of Chinese Sinopharm's COVID-19 vaccine on January 16, becoming thefirst

European country to start a mass inoculation program with it.

"We decided to run fast on all possible tracks," Brnabić said. Serbia has signed with many vaccine producers, including Chinese vaccine Sinopharm, Sputnik V, and Pfizer/BioNtech, as well as participated in the COVAX scheme of the World Health Organization and donated to EU's development of the vaccines.

Brnabić also acknowledged the Chinese vaccine, saying: "The only relevant matter for us is it's a safe and effective vaccine."

Defense Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said over 700 members of the military, including himself, had been inoculated with the Chinese vaccine, Reuters reported on January 19.

"I have been inoculated with the Chinese vaccine, which we completely trust ... I've said I will get the same vaccine as our troops," Stefanovic said.

More than 20,000 Serbians have been vaccinated so far since the mass inoculation began in late December.

(With input from Reuters)