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The European Union has launched a coordinated vaccination campaign to combat COVID-19, in what the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, called an “emotional moment of unity.” Italy and Spain were the countries that started the campaign, less than a week after the approval of the Pfizer / BioNTech serum. This is if we do not take into account Germany, Hungary and Slovakia, who made a discordant note and started vaccination yesterday.
Italy was the first country in the European Union to start vaccination that day. The inhabitants of the Peninsula hope that this will be the light at the end of the tunnel, after a nightmare year in which more than 71 thousand compatriots were victims of the pandemic.
Claudia Alivernini, vaccinated nurse: It is a small gesture, but essential for everyone. Science and medicine, together with the civic spirit of each one of us, are the only means we have to win this difficult battle.
Nicola Zingaretti, President of the Lazio Region: It is not the end, because we still have a long way to go, but it is the beginning of the end, it may be the beginning of the end.
So do the Spanish, who began vaccinating medical personnel and the elderly in nursing homes. A 90-year-old woman was the first to be immunized in the Iberian state, to the delight of her and those around her.
The countries where the first to be vaccinated were political leaders
There are European countries where the first to be vaccinated were political leaders, who wanted to set an example. This is the case in the Czech Republic, where Prime Minister Andrei Babis was one of the first to be immunized.
Andrei Babis, Czech Prime Minister: The vaccine that arrived on Saturday is a hope, a hope that we will return to normal life.
The first to be vaccinated was also the Prime Minister of Greece, while in Bulgaria, the Minister of Health and a high prelate also received the anti-COVID serum.
Kostadin Angelov, Bulgarian Minister of Health: Scientists have done their job, they made it possible for the vaccine to become the salvation we were all waiting for.
Germany, Hungary and Slovakia stole the start
In theory, December 27 should have been the zero point of vaccination in the European Union. Only three countries stole the exit: Hungary, Germany and Slovakia, where the first people were already immunized on Saturday.
Also in Germany, the start of vaccination was uniquely marked by the pilot of an aircraft: the flight path changed, so that the silhouette of a syringe appeared on the radar screens.
The first person vaccinated in Romania, a nurse
Mihaela Anghel, 26, has been working at the Matei Balş Institute in the capital for 4 years. He received his first dose of vaccine on Sunday at 9 a.m. to applause from hospital staff.
Mihaela Anghel: I think it was the greatest emotion I experienced, I had the privilege of being chosen to be the first to be vaccinated in this country. I didn’t ask for a second why they chose me, I just said yes and I came here. It did not hurt at all, it is the most painless vaccine I have ever received.
The total number of medical personnel in the 10 hospitals in Romania, who received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine on Sunday, is 960.
Editing: Monica Bonea
