Bosnia’s semi-autonomous Republika Srpska (RS) entity expects to receive the first doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine at the end of February, the head of the RS Public Health Institute, Branislav Zeljkovic, said on Tuesday.

Zeljkovic said that negotiations for the procurement of the vaccine in the RS are underway but that he does not know whether the situation is the same for the territory of the other entity in the country, the Federation (FBiH).

Procurement of COVID-19 vaccines for the entire Bosnia and Herzegovina is underway via the COVAX mechanism, he said.