First person in RO to receive the Covid-19 vaccine will be a healthcare professional

A healthcare professional from one of the ten first-line Covid-19 hospitals will be the first in the country to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, Valeriu Gheorghiță, the coordinator of the national Covid-19 vaccination campaign, told television station Digi24.

“According to our strategy, healthcare professionals and people working in social care will be the first to get vaccinated. As such, the first person will be a healthcare professional from one of the ten hospitals,” doctor Valeriu Gheorghiță said.

President Klaus Iohannis will receive the vaccine in the second phase of the campaign. Although the president volunteered to get vaccinated to set an example, the specialists working in the task force on the vaccination campaign thought this might lead to speculations and undermine the credibility of the process, Gheorghiță told Digi24.

The second phase of the vaccination campaign will also include vulnerable categories and the teaching staff to allow the safe reopening of schools, he said.

“Teachers and the elderly are included in the second phase of the vaccination campaign. This means we could reopen the schools safely at the end of March – beginning of April, when the third stage of the campaign starts. By then, we will have finished the second phase, which covers vulnerable categories and people working in essential activities,” he said.

He explained that, in the case of children, the issue was not the severity of the illness but that they might get infected, show no symptoms, and pass on the virus. He added that the activity was well organized in schools, especially for the very young learners, and their risk of exposure during classes was low. The risk was related to activities in parks or using public transport.

Interim prime minister Nicolae Ciucă saidtoday, December 21, that the authorities have everything needed to start the vaccination campaign on December 27.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen announced last week that EU countries would begin the Covid-19 vaccination on December 27, 28, and 29.