The authorities of Bosnia's Federation (FBiH) entity will acquire 800,000 Covid-19 vaccines, sufficient for 40 percent of its population and reaching herd immunity, FBiH Health Minister Vjekoslav Mandic said on Friday.

The FBiH Government adopted the decision based on the assessment by the FBiH Statistics Institute.

“One vaccine costs 10-12 US dollars, which means that the whole purchase will amount to eight million dollars or 13 million convertible (Bosnian) marks. We have to inform the Civil Affairs Ministry by 31 August that we're in for the vaccine purchase and pay 15 percent of the amount by 15 September,” said Mandic.

According to him, 800,000 vaccines should be sufficient for 40 percent of the population and reaching herd immunity in this part of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“We tasked the FBiH Health Ministry to sign an agreement with the Civil Affairs Ministry of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was tasked by the Council of Ministers (Bosnia's state government) to ensure the procurement of vaccines for entire Bosnia and Herzegovina, including the FBiH,” the minister added.

While the Bosniak-Croat shared Federation region follows the European Union's policy on the coronavirus vaccine, as emphasised by its representatives, the officials of the Serb-dominated Republika Srpska entity are inclined to the Russia-made vaccine that was announced earlier this month.

The two administrative units manage their healthcare sectors separately, but the State Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices is in charge of the national policies for the use of medicinal products and medical devices in human medicine.

Bosnia's Civil Affairs ministry earlier told N1 that Bosnia was among the countries that would have equal access to the Covid-19 vaccine once it becomes available and that the country would get 20 percent of the vaccine in relation to its population.