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Coronavirus pandemic
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Serbia to give US$30 to those who get coronavirus vaccine

  • The Balkans country is also offering vaccines in shopping centres and rewarding volunteers with vouchers
  • But an epidemiologist warned that stimulating immunisation campaigns with money could be a double-edged sword

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A man receives a dose of the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine in Kragujevac, Serbia. Photo: Reuters
Agence France-Presse
Serbia’s president said on Wednesday his country would pay each citizen who gets a Covid-19 vaccine before the end of May, in what could be the world’s first cash-for-jabs scheme.
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The Balkans country bought millions of doses – from Western firms as well as China and Russia – and briefly became a regional vaccine hub when it offered foreigners the chance to be inoculated.

However, after fully vaccinating some 1.3 million of its seven million people, the drive has started to stall.

“All those … who received the vaccine by May 31 will get 3,000 dinars (US$30),” President Aleksandar Vucic told local media, adding that he expected three million to be vaccinated by the end of the month.

Vucic said the country wanted to “reward people who showed responsibility”.

But he added that public employees who did not receive a vaccine would not get paid leave if they contracted the virus.

Serbia is hoping to further boost its roll-out on Thursday by offering vaccines in shopping centres and rewarding volunteers with vouchers.

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