Zeman calls for Blatny's, drugs control body head's dismissal

Czech President Milos Zeman has said he wants Prime Minister Andrej Babis to dismiss Health Minister Jan Blatny and State Drugs Control Institute (SUKL) head Irena Storova due to their stance on the Russian Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine. When refusing the vaccine, Blatny and Storova "bear responsibility for the Covid deaths in the Czech Republic", Zeman told the Parlamentni listy website on Wednesday. If Babis does not propose the dismissal of Blatny, it will not make their friendly relations better, he said, adding that Blatny was "incompetent". Zeman has also called for the dismissal of Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek.