Solidarity With Bosnia and Herzegovina: Austria Sends 500,000 Vaccines
Austria has sent over 500,000 AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines to Bosnia and Herzegovina. This shipment is in addition to the 650,000 vaccines that were provided to the Western Balkan states by the EU. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, and Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein all expressed their pleasure in working with Austria's neighbors to end the coronavirus pandemic.
"We in Austria are currently in the fortunate position of having more vaccines than we currently need. It is therefore imperative that we act in solidarity and share part of our vaccine reserves with those countries where it is urgently needed." / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons / Gencat / CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Austria is once again providing aid to Bosnia and Herzegovina with another delivery of COVID-19 vaccines. The Austrian government has decided to send 500,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to assist Bosnia and Herzegovina in their fight against the coronavirus.
Regarding the shipment, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said, “I am pleased that we can now also help Bosnia and Herzegovina with a direct shipment of vaccine doses from Austria. The Western Balkans is a particularly important region for us, and, therefore, it is particularly important for us to come out of the pandemic in good shape together.”
Under Austrian coordination, more than 650,000 vaccine doses from the European Union have been made available to the Western Balkan states so far. Bosnia and Herzegovina has received 214,000 doses of this total.
“We can only put an end to the pandemic together. It is therefore only logical that we also support our friends in Bosnia and Herzegovina with the urgently needed vaccines. With more than half a million doses of AstraZeneca, we are making an important contribution to the vaccination progress in our immediate neighborhood,” said Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg.
FM #Schallenberg: “I am glad that Austria can support our friends in #BosniaandHerzegovina with urgently needed doses of #vaccine today - over half a million doses of AstraZeneca just arrived in #Sarajevo. Only together can we put an end to the pandemic!” pic.twitter.com/S7VFQ2R1Zo
— MFA Austria (@MFA_Austria) August 10, 2021
The vaccines were delivered by refrigerated truck from Vienna to Sarajevo.
Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein stated, “We in Austria are currently in the fortunate position of having more vaccines than we currently need. It is therefore imperative that we act in solidarity and share part of our vaccine reserves with those countries where it is urgently needed. Also because this pandemic will not be over until we have defeated Corona everywhere.”
In addition to the Western Balkans region, Austria has provided aid to other countries that are particularly acutely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccines were recently delivered to Tunisia and Georgia, which are currently struggling with particularly high infection and mortality rates. India was supported with a shipment of antiviral drugs, oxygen cylinders and oxygen goggles.
In addition, Austria is supporting the international COVAX AMC program with five million euros. It aims to support a total of 92 low- and middle-income countries with donor-funded vaccine doses.