Vaccination - between trust and mistrust

vaccination - between trust and mistrust 2 million Romanians oppose vaccination, while some 800,000 claim there is no pandemic

Most Romanians are aware of the danger COVID-19 represents, and nearly half of the population believes the pandemic will go on for at least two-three years, a study conducted by the Quality of Life Research Institute of the Romanian Academy reads. Sociologist Iulian Stănescu, a scientific researcher with the Institute, told Radio Romania more about Romanians' waning confidence and solidarity during the pandemic.



"In situations of social crisis, much like the recent epidemic, but we could also talk about war, terrorist attacks and other crises, some societies experience an increase in cohesion, others a drop. Romanian society is part of the latter, and I can say since the start of the pandemic, social cohesion has been affected, Romania's social backbone is tired. In other words, society is losing its resilience. And resilience is also that feature of society that helps her resist social shocks and crises and better absorb their effects".



Over half of Romanians (56%) would recommend a friend to get vaccinated, with the elderly and people with higher education being the most vaccine-prone. There are, however, over 2 million people from all social categories that oppose vaccination and would counter-recommend it. The main reasons behind vaccination reluctance and hesitancy are the lack of information, manipulation and disinformation, but also adverse reactions, including death, mistrust in the efficiency of vaccine, but also the belief that the COVID pandemic doesn't exist. The percentage of people who deny the existence of the virus has reached 6% of the population, accounting for 800 thousand people, a group large and active enough to make its presence felt, the researchers also note. At a time when immunization is at its lowest, the authorities highlight the need to complete the COVID vaccination scheme and are preparing wider awareness-raising campaigns in the rural area, where the immunization rate remains low. According to the coordinator of the vaccination campaign, medical doctor Valeriu Gheorghiţă, nearly 50% of vaccination centers are at present working at half-capacity. The activity in certain centers will stop in the near future, while others will see their working hours reduced. With a "progressive" drop in the number of people taking the anti-COVID jab, the quantity of vaccines delivered to Bucharest will be slashed as well. So far, 60% of the 15 million doses made available to Romania by the European Commission have been used. (VP)



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Publicat: 2021-06-18 14:00:00
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