Over a million Romanians have been vaccinated

Over a million Romanians have been vaccinated with the second shot of the anti-COVID-19 vaccine

Ştefan Stoica, 30.03.2021, 14:00

The road towards a return
to normalcy is bound to go through vaccination centers. Most people in Romania
seem to have understood this. A minority, however, doubts the vaccine is the
solution. Most definitely, immunization is mandatory, as some protesters have
claimed recently. On Monday, huge lines were formed outside vaccination centers
in Bucharest due to delays in the delivery of anti-COVID jabs, some people
preferring to wait a few hours to get their shot, without being forced by
anyone or anything, just driven by the desire to escape the COVID-19 threat. In
Romania, the vaccination campaign is unfolding within parameters, and the
authorities expect the pace to pick up due to AstraZeneca deliveries. According
to the national committee overseeing the vaccination process, since the start
of the vaccination campaign on December 27, 2020, approximately 3 million shots
have been administers to as many as 2 million people. Over a million people
have received both doses of the vaccine. Overall, some 10,000 adverse reactions
were reported in people who were vaccinated with the Pfizer, Moderna and
AstraZeneca serums.

The last two vaccines were the object of a study carried
out by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States,
which proved that the two vaccines reduce the risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2
by 80% two weeks after the administration of the first shot. The same risk
drops by another 10% two weeks after the second shot is administered, the study
reveals. Apart from Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca, the European Medicines
Agency also authorized the vaccine produced by the American pharmaceutical
company Johnson&Johnson. The vaccine is expected to be delivered to Europe
starting April 19. Right now it is being administered only in the US and South
Africa, and has also been approved in Canada. The European Union, which has
ordered 200 million shots of this serum, is expected to receive a first batch
of 55 million doses in the second quarter of the year. The vaccine is the first
to be authorized by the WHO for one administration instead of two, also
presenting the advantage of being stored at fridge-level temperatures.

On the
other hand, the WHO has warned against the increasing differences between the
number of anti-COVID shots available for rich countries and those distributed
to poor countries under the COVAX mechanism. The unfair distribution of
vaccines is not just a moral predicament, but also a destructive effect on the
economy, the WHO says. (V.P.)