Vucic: 3 million doses of coronavirus vaccines have been administered, immunization continues

President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic today visited the Torlak Institute for Virology and Sera in Belgrade, in order to hand over a donation of AstraZeneca vaccines meant for the Serb Republic (RS).

The donation was taken over by the chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Milorad Dodik.

Vucic: We administered 3 million doses

The president of Serbia said that today the number of 3 million administered doses has been reached, that is, 1.8 million first, and 1.2 milion second doses, while in two weeks' time 1.8 million citizens will be revaccinated.

"We are waiting for more Chinese vaccines, about 500,000 doses, that's significant for the entire region," he said after visiting the Institute.

He said that he was honored to be able to hand over 10,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines to Dodik and that he hoped we would be able to produce and package coronavirus vaccines here in Torlak in 6 to 10 months.

"The money here in Torlak was invested only in the interior, now we will concentrate on tidying up the exterior, to make it look very clean. There will be a shortage of flu vaccines, so I hope that Torlak will be able to produce 500,000 doses of flu vaccines by the end of the year," said Vucic.

He announced that healthcare will receive investments going forward, "that will be a symbol of the state, and it is sometimes more important than cannons and tanks." As for the vaccines for the RS, he stressed that Serbia is always here for this entity in BiH and at its disposal.

"We will always share vaccines with the people in the RS. I am proud that today we were able to see what Torlak's plans are. The relationship between Serbia and the RS is at a high level, we are building and guarding a friendly relationship," said Vucic and added that they will have an important meeting on the issue of vaccines tomorrow.

First doses of Russian vaccine from Torlak between June 5 and 10

The first doses of the Russian vaccine will come out of the Torlak Institute between June 5 and 10, the president of Serbia announced and added that he believes we will be able to produce vaccines independently before the end of the year.

"We will see whether it will be Sinopharm's or Sputnik V, but I believe that by March we will be able to offer people a range of different vaccines," said Vucic.

According to him, the plan is to be able to produce 20 million doses in the beginning, and then 30 million, so that we can provide for all of Serbia's needs.

"However, not only Serbia, but also the wider region, because we cannot be healthy if everyone else around us is sick," he added.

He said that a lot of money has been invested in the Torlak Institute since 2014, which was on the verge of collapse, and much more will still be invested, so that Serbia can become a superpower in vaccine production over the next 10 to 12 years.

He pointed out that it is important to produce flu vaccines, and that it is important and would be good if Torlak produced 500,000 flu vaccines by the end of the year.

"There will be a shortage of those vaccines, and it is terribly important that we can distribute them to the population in time, to keep coronavirus and the flu separate," Vucic noticed.

He added that Torlak also produces vaccines against tetanus, diphtheria, the BCG vaccine, sera against snake venom...

"Our intention is to develop scientific and research activity here, as well as production, to become a superpower in vaccine production over the next 10, 12 years," he said.

He reiterated that special funds would be invested in the Biofor Institute.

Tour of the Institute

At the beginning of the tour, the president looked at the plan of the Torlak Institute and inquired about the size of the facility. As the employees told him, the first positive coronavirus test in Serbia was confirmed there.

The president remarked that the capacity should be further increased and noted that a meeting would be held tomorrow to discuss this.

He asked that vaccine experts also attend the meeting.

"Both the Chinese and the Russians were delighted when they saw the equipment here, although many had wanted to destroy Torlak," said Vucic.

(Telegraf.rs)