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He also emphasized that intimidation policies can have the opposite effect. This is what the head of state said when the government considered returning to the mandatory use of masks by reintroducing the quarantine regime in the country.
“It just came to our notice then. In recent months, there have been so many negative emotions and attempts to influence people’s desire to get vaccinated through such, I would say, strict rhetoric or certain strict measures,” the chief said on Wednesday. of State to the press.
According to the president, this “at some point may even lead to the opposite result.”
“There is a reaction of rejection if something is perpetrated by threats or intimidation. We have a great experience in our municipalities, some of them have achieved excellent vaccination results without taking any draconian and intimidating measures ”, he added.
G. Nausėda called for the analysis of the municipalities’ experience and the identification of target groups to focus on.
“One of them is a group of people over 80 years old.” … These people are dying first, “the president said.
He stressed that Lithuania is far behind the European Union average in this age group.
In order to encourage the vaccination of the elderly, in some municipalities, together with mobile correspondents, nurses visit the elderly who offer vaccines at home. Vaccinations are planned in Vilnius polyclinics from October.
Critics say these measures are overdue.
For her part, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė emphasized on Tuesday that much is determined by the preconceived opinion of the people themselves.
“What can I do if a postman who comes home with a nurse to vaccinate an elderly person is faced with a situation where the elderly person calls their children and the children discourage that person from getting vaccinated? What do I have to do so that the children of these elderly people start taking care of their parents? ”Said I. Šimonytė, when asked if she was satisfied with current vaccination rates.
Nausėda also called on the government to consult more with experts.
“It seems to me that the government could talk even more actively with scientists and specialists. It gives me the impression that sometimes the voice of scientists is not constant, but from time to time it goes off and then for some reason it is forgotten,” he said. the head of state.
“The power of science is the power that I believe in. With the help of specialists, we can apply specific measures focused on those places that are most painful, “he added.
As the epidemiological situation deteriorated, Lithuania entered the worst “black” zone of the pandemic on Tuesday. Until now, the country has been classified as a “red” zone.
The colored areas of the epidemiological situation are defined according to 100,000 new cases. population older than 14 days and the proportion of positive diagnostic tests.
In Lithuania, they currently reach 522.1 cases and 6.2 percent, respectively.
