Four million Romanians vaccinated
The authorities estimate that Romania will achieve herd immunity in August
Eugen Coroianu, 19.05.2021, 14:00
Romania has over 4 million citizens who have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccines approved and used in the EU: Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson&Johnson.
The coordinator of the national vaccination campaign Valeriu Gheorghiţă said that in August according to experts the country will reach a “herd immunity threshold of 50% of the people either vaccinated or having recovered from the disease. He emphasized that authorities want to step up the vaccine rollout so as to reach the 5-million target by the end of May, 6 million in July and 7 million people vaccinated by late August.
Valeriu Gheorghiţă added that although current infection figures are good, this positive trend must be consolidated if the country is to avoid a relapse after the gradual lifting of restrictions.
As of late, Romania has stepped up its vaccine rollout, with people able to get a jab without needing a prior appointment and with new methods being introduced, such as vaccination marathons in major cities, drive-thru vaccination centres, mobile vaccination units travelling to large companies and vaccination caravans in remote, isolated areas. Immunization by family physicians has also grown substantially.
The combined vaccination rate is now around 100,000 jabs per day, with any person able to get one in any centre, without prior appointment, based on ID alone. This simple and efficient method has attracted many of the Romanians living abroad, who travelled back to the country for this special purpose. We must bring the vaccine closer to people, president Klaus Iohannis said on Tuesday:
Klaus Iohannis: “The successful vaccination of as many Romanians as possible is the prerequisite for fully reopening all social and economic sectors and for building post-pandemic Romania. Mayors and other local authorities, regardless of their political complexion, must be actively involved in the vaccination campaign. So far we have been successful mostly in urban communities. This is why it is important to step up the rollout in rural areas, because access to vaccines is more difficult there. People must be informed, in smaller localities local officials should even go from door to door to tell people how important it is to get the vaccine.
The head of state warned that a prospective danger is that, as the disease is gradually contained, some people may think the worst is over and that there is no point in getting the vaccine. This is a misguided sense of security. Until a substantial number of us have got the vaccine, the pandemic is not over, and the risk for the unvaccinated to develop a severe form of the disease remains high, Klaus Iohannis warned. (tr. A.M. Popescu)
