Bosnia Buys Russian Vaccines After AstraZeneca Suspension

(Bloomberg) -- Bosnia-Herzegovina’s entity of ethnic Muslims and Croats has signed an agreement to buy 500,000 doses of Sputnik V vaccine against Covid-19 from Russia, Klix reported, citing the region’s Prime Minister Fadil Novalic.

The so-called Federation that covers roughly half of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s territory expects the first delivery of 100,000 Sputnik V shots next week, Novalic told lawmakers in the capital of Sarajevo. The Russian shots will cost 14.31 euros apiece, according to the report.

The move comes after authorities temporarily suspended the use of AstraZeneca vaccines on Wednesday, following reports about its possible negative side effects. The former Yugoslav republic, which is facing a surge in Covid-19 infections, has struggled to obtain vaccines and expressed frustration with the multinational Covax facility that was supposed to help with distribution of shots.

Earlier this month, neighboring Serbia donated 5,000 AstraZeneca shots to Bosnia in a show of solidarity in the ethnically tense region.

War-ravaged Bosnia remains semi-divided into two autonomous entities, the Serb-run Republika Srpska and the so-called Federation for Muslims and Croats. Last month, Serbia shipped 2,000 Russian-made vaccines to the Serb entity.

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