Vaccination of Kosovo Serbs in Serbia

Vladimir Petkovic is co-ordinator for vaccine in the municipality of Gracanica, at a Belgrade-backed health institution.

“From the central part of Kosovo so far we have vaccinated at the vaccination centre in the Kursumli health house with the first dose of 3 thousand citizens, while the second dosage has already taken about 2 thousand people and we are continuing further with regular procedures, people are regularly reported to receive the first dose of<1>, Vladimir Petkovic said.

He says that each citizen has the opportunity to choose the kind of vaccine.

Each user has the right to choose the vaccine, mainly in Kursumli our users get the Chinese vaccine, but there are also those who receive the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, Pfizer and Astrazeneca”, he said.

Goran Slavkovic from Gracanica said before leaving he is going to Kursumli for the second dose of vaccine.

I'll take the second dose of vaccine, I hope everything will be fine. The vaccine is Chinese and I hope all citizens will accept the vaccine because I believe it's okay and I hope that within a month or two that all citizens will be able to walk free and eventually remove these” masks, he said.

A citizen of the Gorani community who did not want to be identified by name says it is important to vaccinate while criticising Pristina institutions for failing to create the conditions for inoculation in Kosovo.

Whatever vaccine is taken is safe, but our people here in Kosovo have done nothing for this people here”, he said.

The Office for Kosovo in Serbia's government, despite the American Voice's interest, did not elaborate on the process, but through a communique it revealed that by the end of last week more than 10,000 and 500 citizens with the first dose and about 80,000 with the second dose have been vaccinated.

Health authorities in Kosovo did not want to talk about the issue of vaccinating Kosovo Serb citizens in Serbia, but incumbent Health Minister Armendi Zemaj said days ago they are facing pressure to vaccinate.

“We are also aware of the pressure of the citizens of our country where they are being vaccinated even by other states, especially Serbian citizens, but we have made it clear and stressed and remained our pledge, we will not get vaccines from the state of Serbia, but from Russia, despite the pressure it makes to Kosovo or even the countries of the region such as Macedonia, Montenegro, Republika Srpska, Bosnia, etc., and”, he said.

Serbian citizens say they are willing to be vaccinated even by official Pristina, if that is possible.

Whatever it is, these vaccines only come from either China or Russia or America, all the same are, whatever vaccine it is in question is coming from outside and it doesn't matter where it is given in Pristina, Kursumli or Vranje, for me it is the same”, Slavkovic said.

If given by Pristina we wouldn't need to go far, but since there is no here, we have to go there”, says Vlagisa Djeric, who is leaving in Kursumli to vaccinate.

The leader of the vaccine process, Vladimir Petkovic, says members of all ethnicities have been submitted for vaculation.

A large number of Roma, Ashkalis, Turks, Goranians and Albanians have vaccinated and still appear. And absolutely all those who are citizens of the Republic of Serbia and have necessary documents have the absolute right to vaccinate”, he says.

Late last year, Serbia's government had begun vaccinating Serbian citizens in northern Kosovo, which had sparked numerous reactions from authorities and political parties. Currently, Serbian authorities say they have opened three centres in towns near Kosovo for vaccinating Serbian citizens.

Kosovo has not yet secured the vaccine, while authorities say the first doses are expected this month through the COVAX programme, which has promised slightly more than 100,000 doses for Kosovo, while others must buy themselves.