Marathons and drive-through centres for Covid vaccination

Romania is partially changing its vaccination strategy.

Eugen Coroianu, 27.04.2021, 14:00

The anti-Covid vaccination campaign will be sped up in both urban and rural areas, to offer more people the opportunity to progressively return to normal life, said Romanian PM Florin Citu on Monday after a meeting with local authorities representatives. Drive-through vaccination centers and marathons are to be set up, after the surprising success of such initiatives. Citu also said immunization will continue in general practitioners’ units and in the facilities of business operators who want to vaccinate their employees and the latter’s families. Mobile vaccination centers will be opened for rural communities and less accessible areas, an effective solution given that the Johnson&Johnson single-dose vaccine will be available starting May 4th, the PM also said.

A Vaccination Marathon has just ended in Timisoara, in the west, a 64-hour project during which 6,700 people got the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. The medical community and the local authorities, who conducted the project, say this was a bigger than expected success. We hope this event will become a snowball to comprise the entire country, Dr. Dorel Săndesc, vice president of the Romanian Society of Anesthesia and Intensive Care said.

A new way of conducting vaccination, with music, young people and relaxed atmosphere, the Vaccination Marathon brought together in Timisoara people of all age, rock musicians and even members of a local organization of motorcyclists. Those immunized will receive the second dose of the vaccine in three weeks, during a similar marathon. Also in western Romania, in the town of Deva, over 1,200 people received the vaccine in two days, in a drive-through centre opened on Saturday in the parking of the biggest commercial centre in town. This is the first such centre in Romania, and it receives all people arriving there by car, without any prior appointment or registration on the national vaccination platform being required.

A drive-through vaccination centre is also open in Cluj, in the north-west. All those willing to get the vaccine must fill in a questionnaire for the triage and wait for 15 minutes in the parking after having the shot. In Arad, in the west, a drive-through vaccination centre will be soon opened in the parking of a commercial centre. The Prefect of Bucharest has promised to open similar centres in the capital city. (EE)