Updates: 12.07.2021 14:35
Released: 12.07.2021, 10:38

Prague – Two vaccination centers against covid -19 opened in Prague this morning, where prior registration is not required. Almost a hundred people were waiting for the opening of seats in the shopping center in Chodov in the morning, others for two hours. For some of those waiting, it was easier than registering via the Internet, others want to win a mobile phone or sneakers, which will be drawn, they told ČTK. Another similar center opened before noon at the main railway station, dozens of people were also waiting there. After the inspection, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (YES) criticized that the opening hours of the center at the station do not begin until noon, according to which it should open at eight in the morning.

“Let’s hope that our children will return to school from September 1 and that we will function normally. The only solution is vaccination, there is no other, “said Prime Minister Babiš at the opening of the first place. He recalled that four antigen tests and two PCR tests are currently covered by public health insurance per month. “But there is a great assumption that this will change and that the state will not pay,” he added.

At Chodov, people receive two doses recommended by Pfizer / BioNTech, everyone over the age of 16 can be vaccinated. It is open every day, on weekdays from 10:00 to 20:00, and ends at 19:00 on weekends. The station is vaccinated with single-dose safety from Johnson & Johnson, and is open every day from 12:00 to 19:00. According to Babiš, similar places could also be opened in other shopping centers in Prague and Brno.

According to the Minister of Health Adam Vojtěch (YES), it will be possible to have the first dose of vaccination applied in a shopping center and to register for another one elsewhere, for example in your place of residence for those outside Prague. People can also get a second dose at the center. “The possibility is here, but it is not exactly what we would prefer. It is ideal for us to come to the second place in the same place. But if he comes without registration for the second dose, colleagues will certainly not reject him and vaccinate him,” he added. .

“The goal is to really reach out to so-called passers-by. For others, they need a loan to buy, and they decide to vaccinate, “said Minister Vojtěch. That is also why, according to him, it was decided to pilot a prize draw in these centers. Aims at the young generation.

“We know that the biggest problem with the lowest vaccination coverage is the younger generation, they are people aged 16 to 30. The choice of prizes is so targeted at this generation, but of course anyone can come,” Vojtěch explained. Once a week, there will be a draw for the iPhone 12 mobile phone, once a day for Converse sneakers or vouchers for the Steam gaming platform. The prizes for the competition were provided by the Ministry of Health.

After the inspection, Babiš criticized the vaccination site at the main railway station. “There are bad opening hours, it needs to be changed, and there are few staff,” he told reporters. According to him, it is not possible for people to wait a long time for vaccination. There is one doctor, one nurse and one administrative worker in the vaccination center at Central Station. They should check in about 14 people per hour. Which people who were waiting there in line today could only get in line after a few hours.

The director of the Bulovka University Hospital, Jan Kvaček, told reporters that the hospital is able to provide an extension of operating hours. However, the number of staff is limited by space. “It’s not possible to do five surgeries there, for example,” he said.

According to Vojtěch, it is essential that collective immunity be created, which is the only solution so that shops, services or society as a whole do not have to close. His speech and the speech of the Prime Minister in Chodov were disturbed by shouting by several people who refused vaccination and anti-epidemic measures. Two police officers arrived at the scene, but did not intervene. There was also a woman at the main station with a banner with a crossed-out syringe and the words “it’s not about the virus.” She then told the prime minister that vaccinations were not voluntary when the government made travel and other things conditional.

By Saturday, almost 49 percent of the population in the Czech Republic had been vaccinated with at least one dose, and about 35 percent of people had completed vaccination. Among seniors over the age of 70, over 80 percent of the population is vaccinated with at least one dose, less than 40 percent in people in their thirties and even less in lower age conditions. According to experts, low vaccination coverage and more social contacts are also worth reducing the number of new cases, which occur especially among young people aged 16 to 29.

Prague vaccination Babis coronavirus