Retired Slovak tennis star Dominika Cibulková (31) as well as her husband Michal Navara (35) are facing a wave of public criticism after they were vaccinated last week against the rules. Neither of them belongs to the prioritized groups of people working in healthcare, social care or critical infrastructure who are supposed to be vaccinated in this round. In her reaction, Cibulková wrote via social media that she misunderstood the rules and would like to apologize. She said she was accompanying a family member and just wanted to inquire about the possibility of being vaccinated. Meanwhile, the hospital reacted that the employee who put the former tennis player in the registration system to be vaccinated although she did not fulfil the criteria for this phase, will be disciplined.
"We welcome the fact that Mrs. Cibulková expressed her will to contribute to the pro-vaccination campaign. However, at this point, the best form of support would be voluntary work in hospitals," said Health Ministry's spokesperson Zuzana Eliášová. Prime Minister Igor Matovič called the incident a regretful and senseless failure of the relevant vaccination centre.
