Novak Djokovic’s skeptical stance towards vaccination against the coronavirus is a reflection of the reality in his native Serbia, where less than half of the population has been immunized against covid-19.
The number one in world tennis last week was involved in a bizarre dispute with the Australian authorities that They expelled the unvaccinated player, considering that he could constitute a danger to the vaccination campaign in that country.
In Serbia, where Djokovic is by far the most popular public figure, vaccination continues to divide the population, with only 47% of the 6.9 million inhabitants immunized.
A NATIONAL HERO
For many in the Balkan country, he is not an anti-vaccine but a national hero, humiliated by the Western world. to prevent him from winning his twenty-first Grand Slam at the Australian Open and thereby being the most successful tennis player in history.
Djokovic, 34 years old and with an estimated net worth of around 300 million dollars, he had avoided making a statement about his own vaccination status since in April 2020, as soon as the pandemic began, he caused controversy by saying that he would not like to be forced to be vaccinated in order to travel the world.
But after the incident in Australia everyone knows that the tennis player is not vaccinated, that he has already been infected twice with covid-19 and that he does not take the rules against the pandemic very seriously, admitting that last December, knowing that it was positive, he gave an interview to the French sports newspaper L’Equipe.
Novak Djokovic at the airport
Your unsuccessful attempt to enter Australia on a medical exemption It was seen in his country not only as an attack against the tennis player but as an affront against the entire Serbian nation.
It mattered little to public opinion that the main background to the dispute was Djokovic’s rejection of the covid-19 vaccine, mandatory to enter Australia.
All this in a country that surprised us last year with one of the most dynamic vaccination campaigns in the world, offering five drugs: the Chinese Sinopharm, the Russian Sputnik V, as well as the three approved by the EU: Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca and Moderna.
“Serbia had the shots and the structure, but it was a huge missed opportunity“, criticizes in statements to Efe Dragoslav Popovic, international consultant for vaccines and immunization.
“I think Djokovic could have been an example to change the situation in Serbia, since he is probably the most popular character in the country among all ages.“, regrets the expert.
Novak Djokovic
SKEPTICISM AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE
In fact, almost 40% of young Serbs, between 30 and 39 years old, are skeptical about the vaccine and refuse to be immunized.
Even 55% of young people consider -against all scientific evidence- that the risk of the vaccine is equal to or greater than the virus itself.
“Djokovic’s behavior is due, at least in part, to the environment he comes from“says epidemiologist Zoran Radovanovic, a retired university professor from Belgrade.
The doubts about vaccination in Serbia are due to the general distrust that exists in the societies of former communist and socialist Eastern Europe, the expert points out to Efe.
“Due to the clumsiness of the Australian authorities, Djokovic may now become an icon of anti-vaccines, not only in Serbia but in the world“, topics Radovanovic.
POTENTIAL IMPACT
Djokovic’s participation in other major tournaments this year, such as Roland Garros, Wimbledon or the US Open, which require vaccinations, is now uncertain unless he changes his mind about immunization.
If the tennis player gave in and got vaccinated, it would have a positive impact not only in Serbia but in the whole world., although the expert clarifies the importance of how to present this change of opinion.
“It would not be good if his eventual vaccination was understood as an obligation but rather as a result of a rational reflection“, explains the epidemiologist Radovanovic.
Popovic, for his part, warns that Djokovic “all kinds of anti-vaccines and different losers will stick to him, and he will have a lot of trouble distancing himself from these people“.
“You must distance yourself and reflect again“, says the expert, for whom in this pandemic “the right to freedom of choice is secondary to the need to be vaccinated and help oneself and others.”
Since the beginning of the year, Serbia has registered almost daily historical maximums of infection with the new omicron variant, while vaccination is still not advancing.
But in the country there are no forceful mobilization campaigns in favor of vaccination that also offer answers to the legitimate doubts and concerns of the population.
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