During the next two-three months, the Republic of Moldova will not have enough quantities of COVID-19 vaccines for immunizing the population with chronic diseases. Doctors warn that the British variant of SARS-CoV-2 during the last few weeks attacked also young people and there are many patients who develop serious forms of the disease and more persons need to be hospitalized. This way the pressure on health workers increases, especially on those who work in intensive care units, while the number of anesthesiologists is insufficient. Related issues were discussed in the #EUDebatesCafe “A year of the start of the COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons to be learned for the health system of the Republic of Moldova” on March 31, IPN reports.
Adrian Belyi, head of the Anesthesia and Intensive Care Department of the Emergency Medicine Institute, said the mortality among the patients in intensive care increased significantly due to the new strain of the novel coronavirus – from 29% to 40%. 15% of the patients who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 will develop forms of disease that require hospitalization and 10% of the infected patients will need intensive care.
Ala Tocarciuc, international public health expert, snorted that some polls show 55% of Moldova’s population accepts to be vaccinated against the novel coronavirus, but the problem is that there are not enough COVID-19 vaccines in Moldova. The country didn’t really make effort to stop the spread of the virus and a liberal attitude continues to be witnessed among the people.
Civic activist Ana Racu, a member of the UN Committee against Torture, related that over 100 health workers died in Moldova since the start of the pandemic. The death of a trauma therapist or a surgeon at a district hospital makes the relevant medical services inaccessible to many people from villages. The professionals could not impose their opinions on the National Extraordinary Public Health Commission and the opinions of these specialists appeared primarily in interviews produced by journalists. Also, the persons who disseminate fakes about the virus and vaccination against COVID-19 should be penalized.
Daniela Demișcan, division head at the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection, said that the second stage of vaccination against the novel coronavirus started in Moldova and this means that the persons older than 60 and those with chronic diseases can get vaccinated. The Republic of Moldova signed contracts with vaccine producers in January and February and it now depends on the availability of these producers to supply the vaccines.
Stela Bivol, director of the Center for Health Policies and Studies, said the COVID-19 situation in Moldova during the next 12 months could worsen.
The debate was staged by the Institute for European Policies and Reforms (IPRE) with support from the German foundation “Hanns Seidel”.
Parliament declared a state of emergency in Moldova for a period of two months, until May 30.
