Difficulties with the vaccination campaign

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)