According to a draft Emergency Ordinance, the government aim to close all vaccination centres within 30 days and starting from July 1st, COVID-19 vaccinations will only be available at the family doctors' office (medic de familie).
During an interview with Dig24, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Health and Chairman of the National Committee for Coordination of Activities on Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 (CNCAV), Andrei Baciu, explained in more detail the changes which will be coming as the result of the ordinance entering into force.
He explained that the activities carried about by the 227 existing vaccination centres will be transferred to the responsibility of the family doctors and that the vaccine doesn't have to be administered by the family doctor the person is registered at, but at any family doctors' office.
When asked whether the pandemic was over, he acknowledged that the virus will stay with us and that even now, there is a small upward trend, but that there is no question of returning to restrictions of any form at this time. He elaborated by saying that an increase in the number of cases is not something to worry about. The health system has increased its ability to withstand crisis situations.
41.9% of Population Vaccinated
The consideration of closing vaccination centres in Romania, might come as a shock considering that according to the ECDC (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control), only 41.9% of the entire Romanian population is vaccinated (50% of the entire adult population).
Vaccinations have slowed down significantly since the lifting of restrictions, with the latest report showing that only 5,277 people across the country completed their primary course and just 2,095 received the first dose. At the current rate, it would take almost 10 years to vaccinate another 10% of the population.
Romania is still the second worst country in terms of vaccination rates, and by March 27th, 2022, there have been 2,838,849 infections and 64,895 coronavirus-related deaths reported in the country since the pandemic began.
COVID-19 cases across Europe, are once again beginning to rise as more and more countries relax restrictions. However, fatalities from the latest COVID-19 cases have been significantly lower, in comparison to previous waves.
