Slovakia is on the tail of the EU: We are the third worst in VACCINATION! People believe more in hoaxes, neither the campaign nor the lottery helped – Topky.sk

We have had worse numbers than yesterday in Slovakia so far only once, on December 30, 2020, when more than 6,300 positive cases detected by PCR tests were added. It was at that time that we were newly vaccinated and the interest was huge. The ministry therefore proceeded according to the individual phases. Today, however, everything is different and Slovakia is one of the countries with the worst vaccination rates.

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We are one of the worst

At present, less than 46 percent of people in our country are vaccinated, which is approximately 2.39 million inhabitants. Of these, 42 percent of people have already received both benefits. While this may seem like a lot to some, the opposite is true. Compared to other countries, we lag significantly behind and are among the five worst countries, ie those with the lowest vaccination coverage in Europe.

About 17,000 people are vaccinated here every week. At first, huge interest was expected, but over time, with declining conspiracies, hoaxes and the opinions of self-proclaimed experts, it declined. We are currently in the last place in the ranking of European countries. According to data from Our World In Data, which collects data from almost all countries not only on vaccinations, but also on cases, deaths and others, countries such as Bulgaria, Romania, Belarus and Ukraine are behind us in Europe.

We are the third country with the lowest vaccination coverage in the EU

Within the European Union, we are one of the three countries with the worst vaccinations. Only Romania, where 29 percent of people are vaccinated, and Bulgaria, where just over 20 percent of the population are vaccinated, are behind us.

Editor’s note: The table is missing data for Bulgaria and Luxembourg, which were not loaded on the Our World In Data portal. Bulgaria is still below the Slovak Republic. The data are given below in the table of the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic.

Portugal is at its best with 89 percent, of which just over 87 percent are fully vaccinated. As for the countries with Slovakia’s neighbors, only Ukraine is worse, where only 17 percent of people are fully vaccinated.

Vaccinations are also restricted in black districts

The vaccination rate in Slovakia is also beginning to be reflected in individual districts, which would not necessarily belong to the worst phase. One of the decisive factors is the vaccination coverage of people over 50 percent. The only district that exceeded the 75 percent mark is Bratislava. Of the other districts, 65 percent of the other nine districts exceeded the required threshold.

These districts are Dunajská Streda, Senec, Pezinok, Galanta, Šaľa, Trnava, Komárno, Žilina and Prešov. This is what has helped them avoid the worst phase, where vaccinated people will also feel limited. Not only residents of black districts had reservations, but also restaurant owners and entrepreneurs had reservations about the COVID vending machine. However, Prime Minister Eduard Heger remarked yesterday that the machine is set up well, the problem is, in addition to low vaccination, that the rules are not followed.

Neither the vaccination campaign nor the lottery helped much

The health sector launched a vaccination campaign earlier this year, but it did not have the effect that many expected. In addition to leading epidemiologists and actors, the president also introduced herself. However, the slogan “vaccine is freedom” has helped little. There was interest in the beginning, but there were no vaccines. There are vaccines now, but there is no interest.

Source: Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic

The side effects of AstraZenec, which was vaccinated in mid-May, also contributed to the distrust. However, only people who had health problems or contraindications had problems. Various hoaxes, conspiracies or pofider statuses of random people on social networks began to enter the scene, which the police also fight against every day and, together with the health sector, try to refute.

The second phase of the vaccination campaign included a number of radio and video spots that focused on refuting hoaxes. It didn’t help either. Igor Matovič then came on the scene with a vaccination lottery, in which the state invested 26 million euros. The creators promised her that the vaccination would increase. However, the lottery ends on Saturday and only a few percent of those vaccinated have been added since its inception.

Hospitals are filling up

Currently, the Ministry of Health has launched another round of vaccination campaigns, but this is even less visible. However, the low level of vaccination was due, among other things, to the poor communication of authorities or politicians, as well as the distrust of opposition politicians in vaccination, but also to the already mentioned increasing hoaxes. We could have survived the third wave much more mildly, but due to low vaccination coverage, we have more cases and, what is worse, hospitals are also filling up.

A peaceful Christmas was initially expected, but it seems that the medics will not rest this year either. Some of the hospitals in the north of Slovakia, where the current situation is the worst, are already at their peaks from the second wave and some are already more than 90 percent full. Vaccination is so far the only effective weapon that will protect us from the severe course of the coronavirus and partly from infection, provided that we follow basic hygiene measures.

Source: slovenskoproticovidu.sk

However, many do not realize that they are particularly vulnerable to at-risk groups and people who cannot be vaccinated due to other health problems. This also causes an increasing number of deaths, hospitalized patients, but also an increase in the number of people who need artificial lung ventilation.

People believe in hoaxes, not experts

According to the head of the medical committee, Janka Bittó Cigániková, the reason for the low vaccination rate in Slovakia is to a large extent the general distrust of citizens in experts. “When people trust Internet hoaxes more than people who have dedicated their entire lives to their profession, this is what it looks like.” evaluated for Topky MP and team leader for healthcare for the SaS party.

The communication of politicians was catastrophic

“On the other hand, we politicians must also take responsibility. The communication of the coalition to the vaccination was one big catastrophe from beginning to end, and the opposition’s aversion and unprofessionalism on this subject is unprecedented in the world.” said Bittó Cigániková. It is all these factors that have caused many more people to end up in hospitals than would end if vaccinations were higher.

“So we’re trying to at least make hospitals as well prepared as possible to help citizens, and for death and hospitalization statistics to be published in a vaccinated / non-vaccinated split in the hope that people will believe at least clear evidence directly from our hospitals.” she added.

Currently, 1,384 patients are hospitalized in hospitals, of which up to 80 percent are not fully vaccinated. There are 130 people at JIS and 131 people need artificial lung ventilation. However, about 180,000 people over the age of 70 are still not vaccinated, which is the most at risk group. The third dose should also contribute to protection.

Huge differences between countries

Worldwide, 49 percent of the population is vaccinated, of which about 38 percent are vaccinated with both doses. However, behind the aggregate statistics are dramatic differences between different parts of the world.

The highest vaccination rates are in Canada (78% of those vaccinated), but in Africa only less than 15 percent of the total population are vaccinated. In Europe, it is less than 60 percent. In the European Union, according to Our World in Data, a total of 586 million doses of vaccine have been given to 69 percent of the population, with 65 percent of the population being fully vaccinated.