Montenegro's Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic said on Thursday he would not get vaccinated against coronavirus because he had enough antibodies, thus remaining the only European leader who has not received a vaccine against COVID-19.

“I have an increasing number of antibodies and do not know where this phenomenon comes from. The moment that number falls below 100, I will get vaccinated,” Krivokapic said, noting that he will always follow advice from his GP.

Krivokapic has been frequently criticised in the Montenegrin media for violating anti-epidemic measures.

The Analitika website has noted that Montenegro is now the only country in Europe whose government is led by an unvaccinated prime minister. It reported also that some prime ministers, such as Kosovo’s Albin Kurti, were among the first to get vaccinated to serve as a role model in their countries.

Local media reported that Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic received her first dose in December last year, while Albania’s Edi Rama was vaccinated in February this year. Croatia’s Andrej Plenkovic and Slovenia’s Janez Jansa received their first shots in March.

In the last two weeks, Montenegro has seen a rise in the number of new cases and deaths from COVID-19, and the country’s health authorities are calling on people to get vaccinated.

Montenegro has so far vaccinated 55 percent of its adult population. Over 2,000 people, or 0.3 per cent of the total population, have died since the start of the pandemic in the country.