Head of vaccination campaign: Vaccine intent at 50 pct at least, no weakening trend

The vaccine intention hasn't weakened in Romania, as sociological data shows it standing at 50 percent at least, president of the National COVID Vaccination Coordination Committee (CNCAV) Valeriu Gheorghita said on Tuesday.

"I don't think there is a decrease in vaccination interest. The drop in the number of people on the waiting list is due to the fact that someone who doesn't confirm the appointment is removed from the list exactly in order to facilitate the notification of the others. That would be one aspect. The second aspect is the envisaged possibility of getting the shot at family doctors - this has most likely led many people to wait until they have this possibility. So, from our standpoint, there is no decrease in the intention to vaccinate, quite the contrary, sociological data shows a vaccine intent of at least 50 percent," Gheorghita told today a press conference at the Victoria Palace of Government, agerpres.ro confirms.

According to the CNCAV president, a total of 1,225,356 people are currently scheduled on the booking platform for the first dose and the booster shot. 662,726 people are scheduled at the Pfizer centers, 160,300 - at the Moderna centers, and 402,329 - at the AstraZeneca vaccination centers.

As many as 2,326,484 people had received at least one dose of vaccine by April 12.

Stage one vaccinees account for 89.2 percent of health workers.

As many as 1,741,448 people have been vaccinated so far with at least one dose in the second immunization stage. In a breakdown by categories, 508,714 people with chronic diseases, 604,437 people aged over 65, 34,790 people from social and residential centers, 22,289 home confined persons and 565 homeless persons received the vaccine in the second stage - accounting for about 75.4 percent of the total stage 2 vaccinees. Also, 428,072 essential employees and 149,581 education personnel were vaccinated in the same stage, said Valeriu Gheorghita.

About 103,760 people were vaccinated in the centers of the Ministry of National Defense, that is 4.6 percent of the national total of vaccinated persons, and 37,186 people were immunized in the centers managed by the Ministry of the Interior, or 1.6 percent of the total vaccinated people.

A total of 281,508 people have received the vaccine in the third stage, of whom 20,245 were also given the second shot.