Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced that every citizen who is vaccinated against COVID-19 will receive 25 euros from the state. Epidemiologist Zoran Radovanovic claims that, to his knowledge, such a stimulus has not been used anywhere. – So we could be the first not only in Europe, but also in the world – the expert said.

Serbia is one of the leading European countries in terms of the percentage of vaccinated people. In this country of 7 million people, 1.3 million people have received two doses of the vaccine so far. However, in recent days public interest in vaccination has waned, and the government has had to find ways to motivate people to make preparations.

“Everyone who received one or two doses and everyone who was vaccinated with at least one dose by May 31 will receive 3,000 dinars (25 euros),” Vucic said in a televised statement. “The authorities want this new initiative to reward people who show responsibility,” he added.

He also expressed his hope that by the end of May nearly 3 million people would be vaccinated with at least one dose of the vaccine.

President Vuczić himself accepted the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine on April 6.

“Until now, I have not seen in the medical literature that anyone gets a vaccine against COVID-19,” said the Serbian epidemiologist Zoran Radovanovic. – So we can be the first not only in Europe, but also in the world – he added.

However, Radovanovi believes that encouraging vaccination by offering money can be a double-edged sword. He warned that “this will force some people who live in extreme poverty to be vaccinated, but it will provoke resistance in others.” – The logic in society might be as follows: if the state pays me to do something and tells me that it is for my benefit, it may be something fishy – note the expert.