A total of 775,294 people who want to receive the COVID-19 vaccine have signed up on waiting lists by Tuesday, March 23, according to official information. More than half of them (57.7%) are people included in the third stage of the national vaccination campaign (namely the general population), 18.9% are aged over 65 years, 15.23% are persons with chronic diseases, and 8.1% are individuals working in key areas.

Most of those who have signed up on waiting lists are from Bucharest and the counties of Cluj, Prahova, Ilfov, Brasov, and Sibiu.

“More than 90,000 people from the waiting lists have already received a notification by SMS, and now they have 24 hours to confirm the appointment at the vaccination center. Over 59,000 people have already confirmed the appointments,” said Valeriu Gheorghita, the coordinator of the national vaccination campaign, according to News.ro.

According to him, a total of 779 vaccination centers are currently active in Romania.

Gheorghita also said that several changes would be made at the online platform dedicated to making appointments for the COVID-19 vaccine. For example, as of April 1, those registered on the waiting lists will be able to see the estimated time left until the day of the vaccination, Digi24 reported. Also, the type of COVID-19 vaccine available in each vaccination center will be displayed on the online platform.

Romania’s vaccination campaign kicked off on December 27. The third stage of the campaign, which includes the general public, started on March 15. Anyone can now sign up on a waiting list to receive the vaccine or make an appointment if places are available. Registrations can be made on the dedicated online platform or by phone.

More than 1.8 million people received the COVID-19 vaccine in Romania by March 23: 974,590 got the first dose, and 826,090 received both doses. Meanwhile, according to official data, a total of 9,167 common and minor side effects have been reported in the country since December 27, such as pain near the site of the injection, fever, headache, or muscle or joint pain.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Facebook/Guvernul Romaniei)