New vaccination record in Romania
Romania has recently broken record after record in terms of COVID vaccination, still the number of contaminations and related deaths is still high.
Corina Cristea, 28.10.2021, 14:00
Against the backdrop of the dramatic situation in hospitals and the big number of COVID-19 – associated deaths, and also in the context of the compulsory green certificates required in many situations, more and more Romanians have chosen to get vaccinated. The figures released at the end of each day stand at around 100,000 people receiving the first dose, even more than 110,000 on Wednesday, plus thousands of people who get the second dose or the booster dose. If the current vaccination rate is maintained, by the end of the year Romania could exceed a vaccination rate of 70% of the population over 12 years, says the coordinator of the national vaccination campaign, doctor Valeriu Gheorghiță. That is, by the end of the year, Romania could have over 11.8 million people vaccinated with at least one dose, currently their number standing at about 6.8 million.
This is a perfectly plausible perspective in the context of an accelerated vaccination rate reported of late, after Romania had got stuck at less than 30% vaccinated people. And this is also a necessary perspective, since more than 70% of the cases of contamination and 90% of the COVID-associated deaths registered last week in Romania, for instance, were in unvaccinated people, shows a report published by the National Public Health Institute.
To make access to vaccination as easy as possible, vaccination marathons have been organized, with vaccination centers being open around the clock for several days, and mobile centers have been used for the isolated areas. A unique vaccination marathon is organized in Alba-Iulia (center), held in the gym of one of the high schools there. It runs only at night, and for the waiting period after vaccination, the young people will enjoy club music and light shows. Family doctors also contribute to the vaccination campaign, many Romanians now going to the family doctor to get vaccinated. Also, many other institutions and private companies offer employees the opportunity to be tested for free.
In Slobozia, in the south of Romania, all the inhabitants are tested for free, and in Sibiu (center), Lucian Blaga University is testing both employees and students for free. Also in Sibiu, Father Constantin Necula is the first priest appointed by the prefect as a consultant in the County Committee for Emergency Situations, to help fight the pandemic. The well-known priest, who recovered from COVID-19 and was constantly involved in helping cancer patients, and not only, said that he would get actively involved in helping doctors and authorities and that he would respect the decision of the Romanian Orthodox Church to advise parishioners to take doctors’ advice. (LS)
