Five members of the government's Scientific Council on Friday distanced themselves from all statements made by Council member Gordan Lauc about the coronavirus pandemic, notably his latest messages that the pandemic is over and that only elderly people should get vaccinated. 

“We fully distance ourselves from all statements about the pandemic made by Gordan Lauc since the summer of 2020,” says the declaration signed by Andreja Ambriovic Ristov, Petra Klepac, Branko Kolaric and academicians Nenad Ban and Igor Rudan.

They in particular distanced themselves from Lauc’s messages in which he declared the pandemic over or claimed that there are circumstances in which it is better to get infected. Lauc downplays the effectiveness of the epidemiological measures and the need for their application, recommends vaccination only for persons above a certain age and insinuates a connection between the increased mortality rate in Croatia and vaccination, they said.

“Anyone who says that any one of us could agree with Gordan Lauc’s statements about the pandemic is not telling the truth,” the signatories said.

The five members of the Scientific Council said that “their views on the pandemic are based on the existing knowledge from relevant professions and constantly evolving scientific knowledge, which often requires changes and adjustments of the Covid-19 response strategy, which then need to be explained to the public.”

“That is why a responsible interpretation of scientifically accepted knowledge is essential at any time during the pandemic in order to keep the public properly informed and to protect human lives and maintain the economic activity of Croatian citizens as much as possible,” the declaration says.

Speaking in an interview with N1 television of his statement that the existing vaccines poorly protect against Covid-19, Lauc said that vaccination is not a mechanism to stop the spread of the virus, but that the vaccine provides excellent protection against serious forms of the virus. He said that he is a scientist whom the government has asked for an opinion, but that he is not a government employee and need not obey the government.