Czech president urges all citizens to get vaccinated in Christmas address

Czech President Miloš Zeman called on all citizens to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in his Christmas address today. He also urged citizens to continue to wear face masks and not behave as if there were no epidemic.

People should not yield to temptation and request further relaxation of the lockdown measures, even though this may be popular, the president stated.

Zeman said his message this year was sad due to the epidemic, but that the vaccination brought a "dawn in sight."

"I would like to call on all citizens to be vaccinated," Zeman said.

"They should not pay any attention to those calling for us not to wear face masks, not to be vaccinated, and living as if the epidemic did not exist at all."

Zeman said that the Czech Republic had managed to keep the first wave of the epidemic in the spring under control thanks to then-deputy health minister and later health minister Roman Prymula.

For this, Zeman decorated Prymula with the country's top medal, the Order of the White Lion.

"But then we rested on our laurels, believing that we suppressed the epidemic. This was stated by the opposition, who called for a relaxation, this was said by the government and, above all, the public wished for this," Zeman said.

This caused the second wave of the epidemic in the autumn, which was worse than the previous one, Zeman said.

"Only an idiot repeats the same mistake twice, while an intelligent person makes new mistakes. This is why I do not think we should succumb to the temptation to call for another relaxation, however popular this might be," he added.

This would mean a threat to our health, a higher number of deaths, and a longer fight against the epidemic due to a higher number of human contacts, Zeman stated.