Skopje, 19 November 2021 (MIA) – Compulsory vaccination of health workers is important because they have to serve as role models. Patients who undergo treatment must know that people who treat them are fully vaccinated, said Health Minister Venko Filipche on Friday. On the latest measures recommended by the Commission for Infectious Diseases, Minister Filipche said the Crisis HQ would hold a meeting on Monday, followed by the Government session. “I talked to the health union president earlier today and he provided support for the measure but also initiated the issue, as did other unions, on the consequences if the measure is not respected,” Filipche told reporters. He added that countries from the region and western Europe are applying more and more restrictions for unvaccinated people. There is still no country and there is no recommendation from an international institution to incorporate the vaccine as compulsory in the immunization calendar. I sincerely believe this is one of the ways to get out of this crisis in 2022. We would do it, but there are no recommendations of this type for the time being. We are following models implemented in various countries across the globe,” said Filipche. The country currently has 470,000 Pfizer and 20,000 AstraZeneca jabs, with 200,000 Pfizer also expected as donation from Italy, which are set to expire in mid-2022.