More than 4 million people in Romania have received at least one dose of vaccine against COVID-19, according to official data released on Tuesday afternoon, May 18. In total, almost 6.94 million vaccine doses have been administered in Romania so far.

The Romanian authorities aim to reach 5 million vaccinated people by June 1.

According to the official report released on Tuesday, almost 97,000 people received a COVID-19 vaccine in 24 hours, and most got the vaccine produced by Pfizer-BioNTech (74,561).  

Valeriu Gheorghita, the coordinator of the national vaccination campaign, said that, according to the authorities' estimates, about half of the Romanian population would have some form of immunity to SARS-CoV-2 infection by August 1, either through vaccination or immunity developed through previous infection.

"Vaccination targets and objectives are based particularly on reaching the threshold of herd immunity that would come with benefits in terms of epidemiological control. That is why we want to speed up the vaccination campaign," Gheorghita said, according to News.ro.

In a press statement on Tuesday, president Klaus Iohannis also talked about speeding up the vaccination campaign in the country by bringing the vaccine "closer to the people."

"I just attended a working meeting with members of the Government to discuss the acceleration of the vaccination campaign. Obviously, the campaign is going well, the vaccination marathons have been a success, but to continue at this high level of vaccination, we need to bring the vaccine closer to the people," Iohannis said.

According to the president, the authorities should focus more on the rural areas where access to vaccines is often more difficult than in cities.

"Mayors and other local authorities, regardless of political colour, must be actively involved in the vaccination campaign. The success we have had so far is mainly in urban areas, so it is important to act more intensively in rural areas where the access to a vaccination center is often more difficult," Klaus Iohannis said. 

As a solution, he suggested to the authorities in small towns to go from door to door "to tell people how important it is to get vaccinated." Also, local authorities should facilitate access to a COVID-19 vaccine, "create opportunities for vaccination both at work and in leisure spaces."

He also urged the Romanians to get vaccinated, as this is the best way to end the pandemic. "Until we are immunized in a significant percentage, the pandemic cannot end, and the risk for the unvaccinated to develop a severe form of the disease remains high. So, dear Romanians, do not hesitate to get vaccinated!" the president said. 

To speed up the vaccination campaign, the Romanian authorities have been introducing extra options for those who want to get a vaccine, such as mobile and drive-through vaccination centers or "vaccination marathons" in cities. Online appointments on the government-run platform Programare.vaccinare-covid.gov.ro are also available, and family doctors also joined the campaign on May 4.

According to Valeriu Gheorghita, the authorities also plan to set up vaccination sites at airports and road border crossing points. 

"They are already starting to be active, and there will be more operational centers at border points, both in airports, especially those with international flights, and at road crossing points - Nadlac, Vama Bors, Satu Mare, to offer Romanians working abroad who travel to the country the opportunity to get vaccinated. Most centers will use the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine," Gheorghita explained, quoted by News.ro. 

Local media reported last week that the Arad authorities plan to set up temporary vaccination sites at the Nadlac I and Nadlac II border crossing points.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

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