BELGRADE, November 25. /TASS/. Serbia is holding talks with Russia and China on purchasing the vaccine against the novel coronavirus, President Aleksandar Vucic told reporters on Wednesday.
Belgrade is also in talks on buying the vaccine under the World Health Organization-led COVAX, a global COVID-19 vaccine project to ensure poorer countries have access to life-saving vaccines.
"Our salvation is only in mass testing and the vaccine. We will do our best and will try next month to provide ourselves with the first significant batches of vaccines, we are talking to all countries. First, we are part of COVAX and if they buy Pfizer, then we do so, without asking about its cost, if they buy Moderna, we do the same," Vucic said.
"But we are also talking to our Chinese and Russian partners, we are talking with Britain’s AstraZeneca - literarily everyone in order to get the vaccine as soon as possible and provide ourselves with at least 1 mln doses by the yearend for medical workers, the army, police, miners and public utilities," the Serbian leader said.
The Serbian president visited a new hospital for coronavirus patients on Wednesday. "In a country where 6,500 hospital beds are occupied it’s clear that we are facing a very challenging situation," he noted. Vucic called on citizens to request medical assistance earlier, warning that after 10-12 days the disease could turn fatal.
On Tuesday, Serbia saw a new high of 6,842 coronavirus cases. Some 1,274 people have died. Serbia’s total COVID-19 case tally reached 133,029. According to doctors, despite the high number of tests carried out in the country, the real number of cases is at least 10 times as much.