Romania to start door-to-door COVID-19 jabs

The Romanian government decided on Wednesday to introduce vaccination services at people's homes and in specialized ambulances, reported Xinhua.

"We have created the legal framework for a significant number of people to be immunized by family doctors at home. It is a measure that aims to stimulate vaccination and to protect elderly people and those with mobility problems," said Health Minister Ioana Mihaila.

The measures will last until March 31, 2022. At-home vaccination by a family doctor or by a specialized physician in an ambulance will cost 60 lei and 40 lei per inoculation, respectively.

Since the beginning of the vaccination campaign at the end of last year, Romanian authorities have taken various measures to encourage vaccine uptake. These include launching more vaccination centers, mobile vaccination units and drive-through vaccination spots, and organizing so-called "vaccination marathons." However, the rate of inoculation has not met expected levels, and remains low in the European Union.

In Romania, 5,197,165 people, or some 30 percent of the eligible population had received at least one vaccine jab by Aug. 24, while 5,075,202 had both.

Romania has seen new infections surge in recent weeks, reaching 849 on Wednesday, the highest daily figure since May 15. This takes the country's total caseload to 1,092,971. Meanwhile, the health authorities have reported 14 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the national death toll to 34,453.