Serbia to offer cash to residents for coronavirus vaccine

BELGRADE, Serbia President Aleksandar Vucic said Serbia will offer money to residents who have been vaccinated as it seeks ways to boost its vaccination process. Vucic said the country will pay each citizen who received a jab before the end of May, in what could be the world's first cash-for-jabs scheme. Serbia has led the way in vaccination in the Balkan region but interest has slumped recently. The government said that it will pay 3,000 dinars ($30, or 25 euros) to anyone who received at least one vaccine dose by the end of May. Serbia became a regional vaccine hub after buying millions of doses from Western firms as well as China and Russia. But after fully vaccinating 1.3 million Serbians from its population of 7 million, the drive has begun to stall. Vucic said the country wanted to "reward people who showed responsibility." "We can't bring negative discriminatory measures for those who don't want to get vaccinated, although I think it's irresponsible and selfish not to get vaccinated. So we thought about how to reward people who have shown responsibility and we decided to give extra financial help for people who have been vaccinated,” he said. Serbia is hoping to boost its rollout on Thursday by offering vaccines at shopping centers and rewarding volunteers with vouchers.