Teofil Blazevski

The fight against fake news and misinformation is much harder than all internationally undertaken and locally implemented or created measures and activities. It is a complex process in which neither media, institutionsor civil society organizations, let alone individuals, can fight on their own, and the consequences can be much more terrible than they are now.

Nertila Maho

The real problem were the unscientific and unfounded claims that began to circulate during the first months of the pandemic, on most of the websites. You could easily find “news” about how COVID-19 could be treated at home with raki (a typical Albanian alcoholic beverage). It was claimed that drinking it kept the coronavirus away.

Ivan Subotić

At one point one could read in the media that Tylol hot (powder with paracetamol used to treat colds) in combination with rakia, is effective treatment against Covid 19, although the combination of alcohol and paracetamol can be quite dangerous.

Ivor Fuka

Clearly, whichever way we slice it, we will be fighting fake news, misinformation, and conspiracy theories for a long time to come. Have we already mentioned that politicians are some of the biggest propagators of misinformation? Well, now we have!

Violeta Zefi

Focusing on overcoming the virus, we undermined how the pandemic times affected our mental health. Struggling to discern truth from “clickbait” is taking its toll on everyone.

Vuk Vučetić

All conspiracy theories have very simple premises on which they rest. At the core of any conspiracy theory is the division of the world into good and evil. It is difficult to refute them because anyone who tries to do so is considered an accomplice to the conspiracy. The problem is that these theories spread very quickly, most often through social media, but also through closed groups on some platforms such as Viber and the like.

Sabin Selimi

Governments around the world tend to follow their own national interests instead of pursuing a more globally coordinated approach.

Arber Fetahu

The pandemic marked its first anniversary a few weeks ago. Covid-19 exposed systemic problems in the health system of Kosovo and other institutional branches. While the high number of positive cases and deaths made the headlines, the government declarations that they have secured hundreds of thousands dozes of vaccines were full of hope, if it were to be true.

Vanja Stokić

Apart from a few isolated attempts, most people are not filing complaints to institutions and are not asking for accountability. They do not even accept the opportunities for inoculation they are offered, as rare as they may be. It's as if they want to hold on and see who is right, anti-vaxxers or doctors, and how the whole procurement drama will play out. In all likelihood, it will be too late then.

Vladimir Atanasov

Bulgaria’s vaccination program can only be deemed a fiasco. It can be attributed to a number of factors — poor organization, incompetence, and potential conflict of interest. In turn, the drama, which unravels now, is not surprising. Bulgaria is second in the EU in deaths per capita on a seven-day rolling basis and last in the EU by number of administered vaccines per capita.

Vedrana Simičević

Favoritism, weak strategy and poor communication with the public were the features of the first months of vaccination and they are the reasons that Croatia is currently at the bottom of the EU scale in terms of percentage of vaccinated population. As the third wave of the pandemic rages, the citizens are frustrated to see healthy middle-aged people already vaccinated in some cities, while elsewhere those over 70 are still waiting for a call.

Stefan Ristovski, Angel Mojsovski

The number of people who are infected and have passed has increased significantly in the past period, while the epidemiological situation in the country is critical. The way the authorities are handling the crisis raises the dilemma of whether the health of citizens is truly the number one priority in this pandemic.

Georgia Nakou

The hope in government circles is that increased vaccination rates and warmer weather will bring infections down to manageable levels and make it safe to welcome visitors for the sake of the economy. The numbers suggest that this will be a higher-risk strategy than is publicly acknowledged.

A group of citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina has filed criminal charges against the authorities. They demand responsibility for the vaccine delays and the high number of deaths from the virus. Despite the mass-scale vaccination, Serbia is far from herd immunity with only 15% of immunized people. In order to slow the spread of the corona virus, 70 to 80 percent of the population need to be vaccinated. The assumptions are that every third person in RN Macedonia had contact with the corona virus. In the video podcast of #ResPublicaMK we talk about the perspectives and dynamics of the vaccination process in the region.

Igor Todorovic

Serbia is the first country in Europe and the seventh in the world in terms of the full vaccination coverage rate! However, judging by the government’s latest moves, the rates are stagnating. Conflicting statements and actions since the beginning of the epidemic, especially coming from the crisis headquarters, gave rise to suspicions among the people and made way for conspiracy theorists. It is uncertain whether the demand for vaccination will bounce back.

Daniela Vukcevic

Back in the day, the mega-popular regional star Lepa Brena sang the lyrics "Bless us, Lord, with health and joy" (“Daj, Bože, zdravlja i radosti”) in one of her songs. Although this hit is now over three decades old, the refrain is especially relevant today.

The blog is part of the joint Res Publica and Project Syndicate publication, “The Pandemic of Fear”.

Prof. Karolina Ristova – Aasterud Ph.D.

The critical minority does not view 2020 just as a year that brought us the pandemics but also as a year that brought another type of pandemics – the one of COVID – authoritarianism.

Michaela Ružičková

We should not consider it as a failure, but it has to be said that it resulted only in temporary decline of spreading the virus. On the other hand, spreading disinformation had more significant consequences.

Kaan Bayırakoşan

Are the imposed solutions temporary or permanent?

Danijal Hadzovic

This pandemic might be a chance to implement more profound economic reforms that are much needed for the country, and for which the crisis could be a great opportunity.