Almost 90 percent of the students at the “Iuliu Haţieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca) have received the coronavirus vaccine, Romanian news portal G4media reports. More than 4,000 of the future doctors, pharmacists and nurses studying at the school are now vaccinated; the students were obligated to do so in order to treat patients in hospitals.
As Anca Buzoianu, the rector of the university, told G4media, students who do not get vaccinated will not be allowed in any hospital in Kolozsvár. “This is not a rule, as there are alternative solutions such as being tested beforehand, but we cannot risk allowing them to go near a patient and infect someone. I am mostly referring to upper-year students who have direct contact with the patients,” the rector explained, adding that a significant proportion of the students have already received the vaccine. “This is the fastest, safest way of returning to some form of normality,” the rector said.
According to Buzoianu, almost every student in general medicine is vaccinated, while there is a lower vaccination rate within other specializations, like assistant training, kinetotherapy or rehabilitation. However, the university will hold informative webinars to increase the rate across all departments.
The rector is also optimistic about the national vaccination campaign: She believes that 60-70 percent of Romanians will request to be vaccinated.
“The doctors from Kolozsvár do not have reservations, and in general, there are no reservations in the hospitals. There are some among the intermediate, subsidiary staff, but the doctors know the importance of the vaccine. I believe that the vaccination rate in Romania will increase when the centers open next week. The non-believers, those who are still hesitant, are waiting to see how others react to the vaccine. They will see that nothing unusual is happening, that it is a simple procedure, and I think they will request the vaccine as well. I believe that we may reach 60-70 percent at a national level. Immunity lasts longer after vaccination than after infection. In all states where the rate of vaccination has accelerated, the rate of infection has also decreased. It is the best proof that vaccination leads to a decrease and that this is the way for us to return to life as it was before the pandemic. It’s the only way,” Anca Buzoianu, the rector of the university told G4media.
Title image: Romanian doctors do not have reservations about the coronavirus vaccine. Photo: umf-cluj.ro
