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Rokiškis district mayor Ramūnas Godeliauskas says he realizes that residents have questions about the AstraZeneca vaccine, some choosing to wait for another vaccine.
“This uniqueness is due to the fact that when we register people, especially the elderly, their first question is: for what vaccine will we be vaccinated? We cannot answer this at the time of registration, because it is not known when and what vaccine we will receive” R. Godeliauskas told BNS on Wednesday.
“When we invite you to come in for a vaccination at a specific time, the question is: what vaccine is available and not AstraZeneca, and some agree if there is no other option and there are people who refuse and wait for the vaccine.” Pfizer-BioNTech is a “vaccine,” he said.
According to data from the Department of Statistics, in Rokiškis district the first dose was vaccinated more than 3.2 thousand. 27.5 thousand people, which is almost 12 percent, about 250 vaccines have not been used.
The mayor claims that the vaccination process is progressing smoothly in the area and that AstraZeneca has only vaccinated now that vaccination of one flock has been stopped.
“Vaccination in our district is quite fluid, usually there are no doses left, but now there is a time when the vaccination was stopped by a shipment of the AstraZeneca vaccine,” said the mayor of the Rokiškis district.
He said news of stopping AstraZeneca’s vaccination process could further deter people from getting vaccinated with the vaccine.
“I think it will increase. I have not convinced myself of that yet, because we stopped the vaccination, but I really believe that it will bring even more mistrust towards this vaccine, ”said R. Godeliauskas.
Vaccinations in private clinics and pharmacies?
In Šiauliai, starting on Wednesday, people are invited to get vaccinated against COVID-19 at the vaccination center installed in Šiauliai Arena, but the mayor of the city Artūras Visockas says he regrets that this center had to be opened.
“I am sorry that we have to have that vaccination center, because everything could have happened as I imagined and expected, but unfortunately it will not happen,” the head of Šiauliai told BNS.
He says he was aiming to make vaccines as widespread as possible, in private family clinics.
“Imagine an elderly person, walking 100 meters to their family center, where they have registered, or going somewhere in the city, which would be a vaccination center,” said A. Visockas.
“Obviously, it would be more convenient to walk those 100 meters, the flows of people would disperse, everything would pass without tension,” he added.
According to him, vaccination could take place even in pharmacies if a special system was prepared.
“You have a common base where you are registered, you come to the nearest pharmacy that is certified and you can vaccinate. You say who you are, enter your code … (…) It’s sad, because you are poorly prepared for vaccination, “said the mayor of Šiauliai.
According to A. Visockas, vaccination in his city goes smoothly, people, although they have doubts, are also vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine. The mayor ensures that everything depends on communication.
“It all depends on how you say it. Try to imagine what this disease is: you are in the middle of the ocean, a ship comes to rescue you and you begin to wonder: what kind of cabin will it be, will you eat or will there be hot food? A. Visockas reflected.
“There are questions, but they are common sense (…) We are in the ocean and it is our will now to save or not – board the ship that sailed or not (…) Perhaps it should be said in simple words, all these vaccines are “Good, they are basically the same,” he said.
In Šiauliai, more than 8,500 have already been vaccinated with the first dose. 101,8 thousand people, in the second dose – more than 3 thousand. people.
Proposes a change in vaccination procedures
Visaginas Mayor Erland Galaguz told the SNB that he wanted the vaccination priority list adjusted so that municipalities could use the remaining vaccines more freely in warehouses.
“We would like the priority list to be adjusted and allow the municipalities to handle this situation themselves, since we now have 400 doses, but we cannot use them because there is such a priority list,” said the head of Visaginas.
“We could vaccinate more and we would like to do so.”
Almost 800 people out of 18,100 have been vaccinated with the first dose of Visaginas so far, and several hundred doses of the vaccine have not been used here.
According to the mayor, there are problems with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
“The vaccination process is going very well when it comes to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and with regard to AstraZeneca, we have to admit that we have about 400 vaccines to date and we probably haven’t used any of them,” Galaguz said.
“It just came to our attention then. It is difficult to say why, but apparently the media is forming the opinion that there are some additional symptoms after vaccination and that is why people have somehow realized it,” he said. .
According to him, the fact that vaccination has currently been stopped with one of his shipments will not help people decide to get vaccinated with AstraZeneca.
“It just came to our knowledge then. I can’t say if it will be the last nail, but I have no doubt that it has a negative impact on self-determination,” Galaguz said.
Invite more specific communication
Aazdma Miškinienė, mayor of Lazdijai district, says the change in vaccination procedure proposed by Visaginas would allow people to get vaccinated faster, but more importantly, the central government will communicate the vaccines with more determination, encouraging people to be vaccinated.
“Greater freedom to decide would provide better acceleration, but much more important than that is the desire and consent of people to get vaccinated, so I strongly invite you to apply a more specific communication directed to age groups at the state level”, MNS Mieninienė told BNS.
She says the municipality’s doctors face challenges in inviting and persuading people to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
“There are challenges not only in inviting people to get vaccinated, but also in convincing them that vaccination is worth it (…) People want to get vaccinated more than they don’t want to, but they want to get vaccinated with an AstraZeneca Vaccine.” the Lazdijai district manager said.
According to her, there are currently around 270 unused doses of AstraZeneca in the municipality.
“The lists are compiled and compiled according to priority groups, currently the population aged 65 and over is vaccinated (…) We actively call and invite others to come after rejecting one,” said A. Miškinienė.
In Lazdijai district, more than 1.6 thousand were vaccinated with the first dose. 17.8 thousand people. in the second, more than 550 people.
Here, people are vaccinated in a polyclinic and in a private clinic, but doctors, if people cannot come to vaccinate themselves, they also go home and establish special vaccination points.
In total, more than 228,6 thousand patients were vaccinated with COVID-19 in the first dose in Lithuania. people, in the second – 88,2 thousand. Currently, people over 65 are being vaccinated in the country.
