Vaccination of workers in company premises in Sarajevo Canton to begin on UPFBiH initiative

SARAJevo, (Patria) - Preparations have begun for the vaccination of workers in company premises in the Sarajevo Canton area, which is the result of an agreement between the Association of Employers of FBiH and the Minister of Health of Sarajevo Canton and the President of the Crisis Staff of the Ministry of Health of Sarajevo Canton, Haris Vranić.

"With the aim of protecting the lives and health of employees, enabling normal work processes and the continuity of economic activities, the UPFBiH proposed that the vaccination of workers be carried out in company premises, which was accepted by the Ministry of Health of Sarajevo Canton. We sent an invitation to companies in the Sarajevo Canton area, and within one day, 15 companies and between 850 and 1,000 workers registered. Our goal is to fully vaccinate up to 30,000 people in companies in FBiH, and if this trend continues and there is a good response in other cantons, I hope we will achieve it. We invite all companies to register, including those that are not members of UPFBiH, because this is a general social goal, which is to achieve a high percentage of vaccinated population," said the director of the Association of Employers of FBiH, Mladen Pandurević.

The Association of Employers of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has initiated this activity throughout the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the goal is to establish cooperation with all ten cantonal ministries of health and crisis staffs, and the response from most cantonal ministries is expected at the beginning of next week.

The Minister of Health of Sarajevo Canton, Haris Vranić, thanked the Association of Employers of FBiH for showing social responsibility, emphasizing that vaccination is the only way to return to normal life.

"In addition to workers from companies that have registered, their family members and other interested parties will also be able to be vaccinated, for which they need to register with UPFBiH, which will then submit lists to the Ministry," said Minister Vranić.

He added that workers can currently choose between the AstraZeneca and Sinopharm vaccines, and that the Pfizer vaccine is expected to be available soon.

"I am pleased that the response from companies has been quite good so far. In the next few days, the immunization process by companies will begin, for which ten nurses and technicians will be engaged to form mobile teams. It is necessary for workers to have health insurance cards, and coordination with the Sarajevo Canton Health Insurance Fund will be carried out for issuing vaccination certificates. Also, workers from other cantons can also be vaccinated, and they will be able to obtain a vaccination certificate in their canton of residence," said the vaccination coordinator, Ademir Spahić.

The Association of Employers of FBiH has invited representatives of the Association of Banks, the Association of Insurance Companies, cantonal chambers of commerce and crafts, the Association of Taxi Drivers, and other employer associations to come forward to arrange further activities related to the immunization of workers.