Health minister: Current Covid-19 vaccination coverage leaves Romania exposed to new pandemic wave

With a vaccination coverage of 43% among those older than 12, the country is exposed to another pandemic wave, acting health minister Cseke Attila explained in an interview with television station Digi24.

“I don’t want to scare anyone, but today we have a 43% vaccination rate among those older than 12; with this vaccination rate, which will increase, we are clearly exposed to a future pandemic wave. We see what is going on in Europe, in countries with a vaccination rate of 70-80% and even more. As long as this virus circulates, it is a simple matter: even if this fourth wave ends, we will still be exposed,” he said.

He urged people to get vaccinated and said the vaccination pace should increase.

A total of 25,607 people received the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine in the past 24 hours.

The country aims to reach a vaccination coverage rate of 70% in 2022, the authorities announced, instead of this year, as initially planned.

The minister also said the pressure on hospitals isn’t likely to subside, even though the number of cases reported daily has decreased. “Unfortunately, the number of deaths is still high, and it will probably stay this way for a while. Even if, for instance, today we have 4,000 cases less compared to the previous week, this isn’t visible in the death count.”

(Photo: George Calin/ Inquam Photos)