Deputy prime minister Dan Barna, the co-president of the junior ruling coalition partner USR-PLUS, plans to propose a partnership with the Romanian Orthodox Church (BOR) in support of the vaccination campaign, Digi24.ro reported.

The partnership would send a message “on an alternative path, just as credible, about the importance of vaccination,” Barna argued.

The suggestion comes amid low vaccination interest and concerns regarding a fourth pandemic wave, fueled by the Delta variant.

“I will propose the prime minister to have, at the level of the Government, a dialogue with the Orthodox Church and a partnership with BOR as vaccination partner. If the Greek Orthodox Church did this and Greece exceeded the 50% vaccination rate, I think it is possible; I am convinced, and I have faith in the wisdom of the Patriarch and the other BOR representatives that it is time to send this message so that Romanians learn […] how important it is to get vaccinated,” Barna said.

The deputy PM insisted that vaccination was the only way to end the pandemic and said the country should get ready for the fourth wave, “which is turning into a reality in the countries around us.” “It is clear the numbers will start increasing in Romania as well,” he said.

Reacting to the comments, BOR spokesperson Vasile Bănescu said BOR had already stated its “favorable,” “natural,” and “clear” position concerning vaccination during the pandemic, Hotnews.ro reported. BOR “has urged the clergy and laity to take the illness seriously, use credible information sources, get advice from doctors and come up with a correctly grounded option concerning a medical act upon which their health and protection and that of their dear ones depends,” he said.

BOR also pointed out that there are 18 religious cults in Romania, which are “the state’s social partners and engaged in a dialogue on various topics of public relevance.”

Patriarch Daniel, the head of the Romanian Orthodox Church, who was recently decorated by president Klaus Iohannis, did not get vaccinated. If he decides to do this, the church will announce it, the BOR spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, the authorities expect to see an increased number of infections in the coming period, and more cases of the Delta strain, which is not yet dominant in the country, Health Ministry state secretary Andrei Baciu told Digi24.

“The numbers of the epidemiological count in Romania show a trend on the increase. The average number of positive cases in the past seven days exceeded 100. We haven’t reached this threshold since mid-June, when we were on a downward trend. The percentage of positive tests from the total tests carried out – on Sunday we were at 0.54%, on Monday at 0.74%, probably in the coming days we will reach 1%,” Baciu explained.

He also pointed to an increase in the number of cases among those aged 20 to 39.

By July 26, 4,951,218 people received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, and 4,799,196 were fully vaccinated. The daily number of those receiving the vaccine dropped from around 100,000 at the beginning of May to about 10,000 in recent weeks. 

At the end of June, the Government announced it would start selling or donating unused vaccine doses as interest in vaccination dropped. One batch of 1 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was sold to Denmark.

(Photo: George Calin/ Inquam Photos)

simona@romania-insider.com