"This is the fastest-developed vaccine in history, but from the beginning of the pandemic it was clear that a specific drug was unlikely to be found and therefore huge financial resources were invested in vaccine production. The aim was to distribute the doses fairly and for the countries to choose the producers themselves," stated Krunoslav Capak, the director of the Croatian Public Health Institute, at today’s National Civil Protection press conference.

He added that Croatia has ordered a total of 5.6 million doses from various manufacturers.

“The EU has opened negotiations with six producers, and there are also producers with whom negotiations have not yet begun. The first agreement we got to see was AstraZeneca, an Oxford vaccine, it seemed at the time that it would be registered first, so we decided to take enough vaccine for all vulnerable groups,” said Capak.

Adding that “We requested three million and 600 thousand doses, so we did not get what was requested, but instead 2 million and 705 thousand doses. Then Johnson & Johnson from whom we ordered 900,000 doses. Then Pfizer and Moderna appeared. When the contract with Pfizer came along, it could be sensed that they could be the first registered vaccine on the world market, so we immediately ordered a million doses. It is similar with Moderna and we have ordered a million doses from them, but we do not have confirmation from them yet. There are others we are negotiating with to ensure continuity of vaccination."

He empathized that the vaccine would be free of charge and will not be mandatory.

"Although it is voluntary, it would be good for as many people as possible to be vaccinated. The era of not wearing masks will not begin with vaccination because we still do not know how acquiring immunity due to overcoming the disease affects the possibility of transmitting the virus," said Capak.