As of May 4, general practitioners will also vaccinate against COVID-19: Family doctors in Romania will be able to give their patients three types of vaccine, the Székelyhon.ro news portal reported. Although it is not mandatory for family doctors to participate in the vaccination campaign, authorities hope that gradually more and more of them will get involved in the immunization process for the benefit of their patients.
So far, about 3,000 GP clinics have agreed to take part in the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, the digi24.ro news portal wrote. This means that within a week, about a third of Romania’s family doctors will vaccinate patients against coronavirus, and the government hopes their number will gradually increase. Family doctors participating in the vaccination campaign will be provided with the Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines.
As Hajnal Finta, deputy director of the Hargita County National Health Service directorate told Székelyhon, the GPs in Hargita county “showed openness” to the idea of taking part in the vaccine rollout.
“We are aware of the fact that joining the COVID-19 vaccination campaign means more work for family doctors, but I also believe that every GP feels responsible for their patients, and eventually, many or most of them will assume this task,” Finta said. She also pointed out that family doctors will have to organize the vaccination process in their clinics; depending on the type of vaccine, one vial can contain 6 to 10 doses, thus careful planning is required so that no dose is wasted.
It is not yet exactly known how many GPs in Hargita County will be involved in the coronavirus vaccination campaign, as contracts are still being signed with the National Health Insurance Fund, Székelyhon.ro wrote. However, according to a survey taken last month, more than half of Hargita County’s GPs indicated they would be involved in the vaccine rollout. As the county’s NHS deputy director noted, people who wish to be vaccinated by their GPs ought to inquire first by telephone if their physician is involved in the vaccination campaign or not.
As Prime Minister Florin Cîțu has already pointed out several times, the goal of the Romanian government is to have 5 million people vaccinated by the beginning of June and more than 10 million by September.
Title image: As of May 4, about one-third of Romania’s family doctors will start administering COVID-19 vaccines
Source: G4media.ro
