President says COVID-19 vaccination will be voluntary, first vaccines to arrive in Romania early next year

The first batch of about 1 million COVID-19 vaccines will most likely arrive in Romania early next year, president Klaus Iohannis said on Thursday, December 3, after visiting the first vaccination center in Romania, set up in northern Bucharest. He also said that the vaccination is "voluntary, safe, and effective" and that the vaccination campaign "will last at least a few months."

Romania's defense council CSAT approved the COVID-19 vaccination strategy during an extraordinary meeting on Thursday. The strategy, which was also approved by the government last week, is to be presented in a dedicated press conference later today.

President Iohannis said plans for the coming weeks and months include an information campaign for both the general and specialized public, and a dedicated website where people can find additional information.

The president also said that the vaccination center he visited on Thursday is a pilot project and that similar centers will be opened across the country. These centers will include a reception area, an area where the patient can talk with the doctor, the vaccination area, and a waiting area after vaccination.

"There is an electronic register where all vaccinations will be recorded, an electronic register that will obviously be confidential," Klaus Iohannis also said.

"If all goes as planned, we may end this first vaccination campaign by the summer," the president added.

Doctor Valeriu Gheorghita, the coordinator of the national COVID-19 vaccination campaign, also told local news channel Digi24 that the campaign could end by mid-summer next year, when 60-70% of the population should be immunized against coronavirus infection.

According to the vaccination strategy published in the Official Gazette and quoted by News.ro, staff in hospitals, emergency medicine, primary medicine, laboratories, pharmacies, dental staff, care staff in residential centers, and staff involved in conducting vaccination campaigns will get the COVID-19 vaccine in the first stage. The second stage covers high-risk individuals, including adults over 65 and staff from various key institutions.

The third phase of the vaccination campaign is targeted at the wider public and children, depending on the evolution of the pandemic and the characteristics of the vaccines approved for use for those under 18.