More than 80% of Serbian citizens would like to receive the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine. The ambassador of the republic in Moscow, Miroslav Lazanski, spoke about this in an interview with Izvestia, commenting on the progress of vaccination in the country.
“Vaccinations in Serbia are progressing well. More than 3.5 million Serbian citizens have already received the first vaccine, and I think that the number of citizens who received the second dose of the vaccine is approaching 2 million, ”the diplomat said.
According to him, the Russian drug Sputnik V occupies an important place in this process, but he noted that citizens themselves choose what to vaccinate with. Lazanski reminded that vaccination in Serbia is optional, it is carried out on a voluntary basis.
“Every citizen can choose which of the vaccines to be vaccinated. But the fact is that 80% or 85% of Serbian citizens want the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, the ambassador added.
Earlier on April 16, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the production of the Russian vaccine against coronavirus in Belgrade will be launched in May.
On April 14, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) announced the launch of production of Sputnik V at the Serbian Institute of Virology, Vaccines and Serums Torlak.
Serbia became the first state in Southern Europe to produce Sputnik V. Vaccination with this drug began in the country on January 6, 2021.
The Russian drug “Sputnik V” was developed by the specialists of the Gamaleya Center. It was registered in August 2020 and became the first coronavirus vaccine in the Russian Federation and in the world.
Sputnik V is one of the top three COVID-19 vaccines in the world in terms of the number of approvals received by government regulators. To date, the use of the drug has been approved in more than 60 countries.
Read the full version of the material in the latest issue of Izvestia dated May 4.