In the past 24 hours, 11,912 healthcare professionals received the Covid-19 vaccine, bringing the total of those who received the jab to 25,508 on January 4, the authorities announced. They received the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine. 

Romania started its vaccination campaign on December 27. It is currently rolling out the first phase of the campaign, covering healthcare professionals and those working in care homes. 

The authorities plan to vaccinate an average of 20,000 people daily soon, Andrei Baciu, the vice-president of the Covid-19 national vaccination committee, told B1 television station. 

“It is a matter of having all the centers up and running. For this first stage, we use vaccination centers set up inside hospitals because we are vaccinating healthcare workers, and it is normal that they receive the vaccine at work. Being a medical act, it wasn’t right to send them to a center outside of the hospital,” Baciu explained.

Valeriu Gheorghiţă, the coordinator of the national vaccination campaign, previously put forth the same number, explaining it can be reached once all the 376 vaccination centers serving healthcare professionals are open. On Monday, January 4, more than 90% of these centers opened. Baciu explained that all the vaccination centers for healthcare workers would open this week. 

The authorities expect the daily average to increase in the next stage of the vaccination campaign, as more vaccination centers are set up. In the second phase of the vaccination campaign, covering vulnerable groups and patients with chronic illnesses, there will be 930 vaccination centers, while some of the 376 centers set up in the first phase will remain open. 

Another 600,000 vaccine doses should reach Romania by the end of January, Baciu said, explaining that the authorities hope to complete the vaccination of healthcare professionals and of those working in care homes by the end of this month. 

(Photo: Maria Kaminska/ Dreamstime)

simona@romania-insider.com