UPDATE: SCS Software has reached out with a correction to its original press release. The previous release contained "an error that happened due to a language and translation barrier." The company has since updated its verbiage, replacing the controversial phrase with the following:

"No matter if you stand for vaccines or against them, these truckers still have to work really hard and we wanted to give them their well-deserved 15 minutes of fame."

ORIGINAL STORY BELOW

SCS Software, a Czech game development company based in Prague, which known for its 18 Wheels of Steel and Truck Simulator series, has issued a bizarre press release that states, “We do not take a stand neither for or against vaccines, we just wanted to express our appreciation and support for every real truck driver out there who have been facing a very challenging times since pandemic situation began.”

Although the release does express its support for self-quarantine measures by saying, “We though that we might support the safety of our community if we provide them some entertainment they might see as a good reason to stay home a bit more longer during these difficult times the world is going through,” it is unclear why the Euro Truck Sim 2 developer decided to take a neutral stance when it comes to vaccination.

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On December 27, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis was the first person in the country to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at the Central Military Hospital in Prague, just before other hospitals in the capital and second-largest city Brno began to distribute the 9,750 doses the country had received. The country had ordered 15.9 million vaccines, more than half from Pfizer/BioNTech jab, which were expected to cover nearly 9 million people in the country of 10.7 million.

According to a survey published in December by the Slovak Academy of Sciences, however, 45% of respondents in the Czech Republic and Slovakia don’t want to be vaccinated, and one in three don’t believe COVID-19 is any worse than the flu. In addition, nearly 40% of respondents said they thought the number of deaths from COVID-19 has been purposely exaggerated.

It’s unclear whether SCS shares the view of nearly half their countrymen, though, it does appear that they want to avoid offending anti-vaxxers. Meanwhile, the company has unveiled a new challenge called #HaulingHope in which truck sim players have to haul a virtual cargo of vaccines with zero-damage tolerance. To take part in the challenge, players must have a Fragile Cargo skill, level 1.

Source: SCS Software

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