UNICEF will continue delivering the vaccines in accordance with the COVAX plan until the end of the second quarter of this year, UNICEF Serbia Representative Deyana Kostadinova said, emphasizing that Serbia gives an excellent example of vaccination, but that it is important for the process to takes place in the whole region to stop the virus transmission across the borders.

After Serbia received the first COVAX delivery with 57,600 doses of vaccines against coronavirus on Friday evening, Kostadinova told national broadcaster RTS that UNICEF will deliver the remaining 201,600 doses in accordance with the distribution plan of COVAX by the end of the second quarter of this year.

„COVAX’s goal is to distribute vaccines and cover 20 percent of the population in all countries of the world, and the first delivery should be done by the end of the first quarter of this year and to cover three percent of the population – health and social workers and all those on the front line and who provide services to the population,” Kostadinova added.

As she said, the primary goal is to ensure the equal distribution of vaccines to all countries of the world.

„All participants of COVAX, currently 190 countries around the world, should have equal access to two billion doses by the end of this year,” Kostadinova said, adding that the COVAX programme has delivered 33 million doses to 74 countries so far.

According to her, Serbia proved to be an excellent example of vaccination.

„We see that a mass vaccination is taking place, I would like to congratulate the Government of Serbia on the excellent organisation and implementation of the vaccination process.“

„The situation is not the same in the surrounding countries, but it is important that all countries in the region start and maintain this process in parallel in order to stop the transmission of the virus across the borders,“ Kostadinova added.