Miloš Zeman, President of the Czech Republic, thinks that the coronavirus will be over by September 2021. Furthermore, he expressed no concern about the Russian Sputnik vaccine, being ready to deliver it to the Czech Republic upon certification from Czech State Institute for Drug Control.
In an interview with CNN Prima News, Zeman said that an optimist could say the COVID-19 pandemic could be over by June, but he’s aiming for September. He also fully supports the new heightened restrictions that start on March 1st which prevent people from leaving their province without documentation.
“We’re in a situation where, even though some disagree, this catastrophe is coming to an end. Do you know why? Because just as I once called for masks, I also called for vaccinations. In my estimate, by September at the latest, a large part of the population could be vaccinated.”
Zeman describes those who don’t trust the vaccines as “slightly demented,” noting that vaccines have saved people from tuberculosis, whooping cough, and other illnesses.
The President has declared his intention to bring Russia’s Sputnik vaccine to the Czech Republic, as long as it can get certification from Czech State Institute for Drug Control.
“Even if some idiot accuses me again of being a Russian or Chinese agent, I think I’ll just go ahead and help my country.”
Zeman has already had his two doses of the Pfizer vaccine but says he would’ve been just as happy to take the Sputnik version as well.
The President says closing schools for a few months is a “sensible, albeit unpleasant measure,” but opposes recent discussions of shutting down factories because of how much they contribute to state income.
“We have to give people hope. Not fictional, but real. I’m a supporter of vaccination. It doesn’t matter what country it comes from, as long as it’s effective. In such a case, there is hope, and it’s different than last year when there was no vaccine.
Featured image by Miloslav Hamřík via Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0
