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Latvia opened mass immunization centers in eight cities and towns on Saturday in a bid to increase vaccines against COVID-19, health authorities reported.
In addition to the three largest immunization centers in Riga, smaller vaccination centers were also opened in seven cities.
Several people who were interviewed on public radio while waiting in line to receive their first coronavirus vaccine said they were looking forward to this opportunity, although some admitted to being a bit apprehensive before the injection.
According to the plan of the Vaccination Office, the mass immunization campaign in the centers will take place from Saturday to Monday. The event is organized during the Easter holidays in the hope of attracting more people.
Overall, the Easter campaign has made around 10,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine available to people in priority groups for vaccination: the elderly and those with chronic diseases. Vaccination centers in the capital Riga are expected to use more than 50 percent of that amount.
As of Saturday, Latvia has administered the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to 118,979 people, or 6.28 percent of the population, while 24,821 people, or 1.31 percent of the population, have received both. injections.
As of March 28, Latvia’s first dose absorption rate was the second lowest in the European Union, according to the weekly review of the COVID-19 vaccine launch by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). ).
