PM Citu: If eligible population gets vaccinated we shouldn't speak about COVID fourth wave in Romania

Prime Minister Florin Citu stated on Tuesday that in case the eligible population gets vaccinated there should be no fourth wave of the COVID pandemic, emphasizing that, through the measures disposed, the Government has taken the vaccine nearly everywhere in the country.

"If the eligible population gets vaccinated we shouldn't talk about a fourth wave and I know there's a lot of discussion in the public space at this moment about the fourth wave. I repeat: we have no reason to have a strong fourth wave in Romania. We may have a fourth wave, because the flu comes each year, thus it may happen here as well, but we shouldn't have a significant fourth wave, with significant effects, because we have the vaccine in Romania and if we get vaccinated, we won't have this fourth wave," said Florin Citu at the Victoria Government Palace, during a session on the topic of the benefits of vaccinating children, agerpres report.

He brought to attention the risk of a rapid spread of the Delta variant, the Indian variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, starting from the announcement of the World Health Organization on the issue.

"Thus, this is a risk that we all know, it is, for the moment, the most aggressive [strain] and the unvaccinated persons are most vulnerable, that's where the vulnerability is, and, of course, the communities where the vaccination rate is small. So, if we get vaccinated in as large numbers as possible, we shouldn't have a problematic fourth wave, the solution is simple from my point of view," said Citu.

The Prime Minister emphasized the fact that the persons who choose to get vaccinated do so for their own safety and that of their families.

"If you choose to get vaccinated now (...), you get vaccinated for yourself and for your family's safety. I said this each time: we are not doing this vaccination campaign... it's not about me, nor about Mr. Gheorghita, nor about Minister Cimpeanu or other members of the Government, nor about State Secretary Baciu, it's about all of us, about the safety of the family, about a healthy society. Thus, we do this for all of us, to return to normality. We vaccinate to protect ourselves and our parents and children, the most vulnerable in the family," Citu also said.

He said, in context, that following the vaccination campaign, starting with May 15 a gradual relaxation of restrictions began and the process is to continue.

The Prime Minister also emphasized that the Government has taken the vaccine to nearly the entire country.

"We now have caravans taking the vaccine to rural areas, we had vaccination marathons, in airports we have vaccination centers, in train stations, at the border, I understand, I saw a few vaccination centers in lavender fields, we will have them at the entry to the beach. Thus, we took it everywhere, we made this effort to have the vaccine everywhere, close to citizens, just so they get vaccinated. I repeat, it's important to get vaccinated so we can be rid of this pandemic," Citu emphasized.