Traveling and entering EU or US countries will not depend on vaccinations received by someone, and citizens of Serbia need not worry, says Tourism Minister Tatjana Matić for Kurir
The citizens of Serbia are free to be vaccinated with the vaccine they want, because they will not be conditioned by a certain vaccine so that they can travel, mainly to our favorite destinations in Europe, such as Greece, whose sea we expect for this year. .
Immunization in Serbia is currently carried out by the American-German “Pfizer-Bayontek”, Russian “Sputnjik V” and the Chinese Sinofarm vaccine. Although the European Medicines Agency and the US Food and Drug Administration have so far approved only the use of the “Pfizer” and “Modern” vaccines, our experts say that citizens of Serbia who have been vaccinated with the Chinese or Russian vaccine should be calm.
Russian and Chinese in the EU
Tatjana Matić, Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, points out to Kurir that the citizens of Serbia need not worry.
– Traveling and entering EU or US countries. you will not be envious of a vaccine someone has received. We hope that all vaccinations will be certified soon and that the travel rules will be defined as soon as possible, which, I believe, will not involve the use of covid passports. The issue of vaccination should not be politicized and immunization should not lead to any form of discrimination – Matic emphasizes and adds that it is in the global interest to complete the immunization process as soon as possible because it is a safe continuation of international travel.
Crisis staff member prof. Dr. Branislav Tiodorović tells Kurir that the EU itself rejected the idea of kovid passports because they do not have a unique position:
– Even the richest countries cannot provide the same vaccine and will have to buy others. Pfizer cannot deliver everything requested. Hungary has already accepted “Sputnik V” and the Slovaks are preparing. And when they do, there can be no discrimination against the people who enter. And our people don’t need to think about whether to get a Chinese, Russian, or American vaccine because of travel. The most important thing is to get vaccinated and achieve herd immunity as soon as possible.
According to Pavle Zelic of the Serbian Agency for Medicines and Health Products, nine vaccines are used in the world.
– “Pfizer” in 30 countries, “Sputnik V” in 11, “Modern” and “Astra Zenekina” in 10, and “Sinofarmova” in six. These vaccines are registered in several countries and will reach our market more easily. I think China will get the green light from the EU, serious negotiations are already taking place between the Hungarians and the Chinese. The European Commission has given Hungary permission to start registering this vaccine, says Pavle Zelic for TV K1.
photo: Ana Paunković
Economic interests
That the Chinese and Russians are the most desired tourists in Europe and that the economic interest will not give any restriction regarding the choice of the vaccine, says Senir Aleksandar Senicic, director of the National Association of Travel Agencies of Serbia (Utah).
– A large number of EU countries have already requested the vaccines from China and Russia, and Angela Merkel even asked Russia for Germany to produce “Sputnik V”. Up to 100 million Chinese left China in 2019, and most of them rested in the most famous destinations in Europe and North America. They have spent tens of billions of euros in Europe. And in the last 15 years, the most dominant tourists of the extra class in Europe are Russians, who spend three times more money than the average European. And now waiting for someone to forbid them to come because they were vaccinated with the Russian vaccine, and not the American one, is inconceivable. And then we, who have been vaccinated with the Russian or Chinese vaccine, cannot be denied the trip – says Senicic.
SENICIC OF GREECE AND THE CROWN OF PASSPORTS
Vaccination is an advantage, not a condition
Senicic points out to Kurir that Greece, where the “Pfizer” vaccine bombardment began, has not yet introduced digital crown passports, although Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is very interested, as well as negotiations with that country on a protocol for the entry of our citizens, whose signature is expected in March or April:
photo: Tamata Trajković
– We need to be vaccinated as soon as possible to create an opportunity for Greece to open its borders. A prerequisite for opening is an infection threshold at an acceptable level. Remember that last year we signed a protocol with Greece on opening the borders, but then we had a large number of infected and the borders remained closed to us. We hope that the protocol guarantees that it will not close the borders, that the entry of our citizens will be possible and under what conditions. Of course, vaccination will be an advantage, but not a condition. Those who have not been vaccinated will likely have a PCR test or a Greek border antigen as a condition. And if the situation is really good, you may only need insurance against kovid, which will be a condition in each variant.
