Difficulties with the vaccination campaign

Three weeks since the start of the vaccination campaign in Romania, difficulties have arisen with using vaccine doses effectively and making appointments

Daniela Budu, 19.01.2021, 14:00

The anti-COVID-19 vaccination campaign, which started on December 27
in Romania, is facing difficulties with the launch of the online platform for
making appointments. A debate organized by the College of Physicians addressed
the fact that a large number of chronic patients couldn’t make appointments due
to the large number of requests. The coordinator of the national vaccination
campaign, Dr. Valeriu Gheorghiță says some 75% of people who’ve made
appointments are people over 65 years of age or people suffering from chronic
illnesses. He explained that, unfortunately, the data base of the National
Health Insurance Company is not updated enough, and that a number of chronic
patients who weren’t listed in the database could not make appointments.

In
turn, Romania’s representative at the WHO, Dr. Alexandru Rafila, currently a
Social-Democrat MP, believes the deficient online platform, in addition to
including in the second phase of the campaign categories of people without
prioritizing them, might hinder the vaccination process. Dr. Rafila called on
the authorities to extend the functioning hours of vaccination centers to
weekends as well, so that 70% of the population should be immunized by
September. The most important thing right now is for Romania to effectively
make use of vaccine shots arriving every week, Dr. Rafila also went on to say.
The authorities want to vaccinate the entire population opting for a vaccine
within 9 months. State Secretary with the Health Ministry, Dr. Andreea
Moldovan, in turn claims the anti-COVID vaccination is a matter of national
security.

The Romanian official says the studies conducted so far reveal that
the immunity provided by a vaccine is similar to antibodies developed after any
disease. Andreea Moldovan referred to studies that show that 80% of people
who’ve had coronavirus developed antibodies over an period of time that may
vary. On the other hand, Social-Democrat MEP Mihai Tudose has called on the
European Commission to take immediate action to guarantee the delivery of the
minimum number of doses necessary for mass immunization across the community
bloc by summer. The former Romanian Prime Minister believes vaccine deliveries
should be linked to its administration. In turn, State Secretary with the
Interior Ministry, Raed Arafat, said people wanting to take the vaccine is a
good sing, arguing that an EU-wide vaccine certification is currently under
analysis. Also worth mentioning is that EU member states on Monday started
debating whether people taking the anti-COVID-19 shot should benefit from a
wider freedom of movement than those who don’t. (V. Palcu)