Bosnians 'justifiably unhappy' at Covax as paid-for Covid vaccines don’t arrive, says foreign minister

The Bosnian foreign minister has blasted Covax, the international initiative aiming to bring Covid vaccines to poorer nations, saying the country has not received a single dose of the jabs it paid for.

“Our citizens are justifiably unhappy,” Bosnian Foreign Minister Bisera Turkovic told reporters during a visit to Berlin, adding “we expect Covax to fulfil its contractual obligations.” 

Turkovic told reporters, as she spoke alongside German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, that “not a single dose” had arrived to date despite Sarajevo paying for more than 1.2 million doses through the Covax scheme.

“Every day counts. We’re talking about people’s lives,” she stated. 

German Foreign Minister Maas said he regretted that Covax’s rollout had been delayed but 130,000 doses would be delivered to Bosnia before the end of May.

"I can understand that this isn't fast enough for many, and of course I see that there are others offering vaccines and who expect favourable political conduct in return," Maas added.

The country of 3.3 million people has reported more than 5,000 deaths related to Covid-19, according to the World Health Organization data, giving it one of the highest death-rates per capita – even greater than the US.

Last week, neighboring Serbia donated 10,000 AstraZeneca doses to be distributed among the Croat-Muslim federation of Bosnia. Bosnia’s Serb-dominated half, Republika Srpska, has also procured doses of the Russian-made Sputnik V, 20,000 of which arrived in Banja Luka on Monday.

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