Pristina (AFP)
Kosovo received its first batch of anti-Covid-19 vaccines on Sunday through Covax, the system intended to supply underprivileged countries.
"Our country is small and poor, so it needs support and solidarity, especially from the United States and the European Union," Prime Minister Albin Kurti told reporters at Pristina airport where the shipment of 24,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine arrived.
Kosovo, like its neighbors in the Balkans, is facing a very sharp increase in coronavirus contaminations.
The vaccination campaign is to begin next week by health professionals, people with at-risk pathologies and the elderly, said Minister of Health Arben Vitia.
In total, Kosovo has ordered 100,000 doses of vaccine from Covax.
The government plans to have vaccinated 60% of its population by the end of the year.
Kosovo, which has 1.8 million inhabitants, has recorded 90,000 contaminations, including 1,800 deaths, since the start of the pandemic.
© 2021 AFP