Bosnia and Herzegovina is turning into a “black hole” in Europe because it is lagging behind other countries in COVID-19 vaccine procurement, microbiologist Dr. Sukrija Zvizdic told N1 on Thursday, adding that it would be best if Bosnians would receive vaccines developed in Europe because they were made for the virus that is circulating throughout that area.

The coronavirus will remain present in the world forever and those who are not immune will surely get infected, Zvizdic said, emphasising the importance of achieving collective immunity.

“We see that the EU will certainly introduce passports for those who have been vaccinated, ie restrictions for those who have not,” he said, adding that there is no explanation for “what will happen to those citizens who are vaccinated with a vaccine that is not approved in the EU.”

“Will they be able to enter EU countries?” he asked.

“Those vaccines that are approved in Europe are developed on the basis of a virus circulating in Europe. They are the best in my opinion,” he stressed.
Zvizdic described the epidemiological situation in BiH as “favourable,” explaining that the because the number of infected is smaller, regardless of the number of tests performed, as there is a smaller number of hospitalised COVID-19 patients.

“We have a favourable epidemiological situation and relatively everything is open and we must respect the measures that were introduced because with one wrong step we can disrupt the situation and regret it,” he said.