An orange COVID-19 alert was issued at national level in Moldova given that the number of new cases the past seven days increased considerably. Epidemiologists say the situation worsened due to three factors: increased contagiousness of the Delta variant, low vaccination rate among the Moldovans and non-observance of the sanitary rules. According to doctors, vaccination prevents severe cases of COVID-19 and deaths, IPN reports.
The Republic of Moldova is going through a new virulent stage of the pandemic, with the number of deaths from COVID-19 rising by 35%. The rate of vaccination with a completed series at the national level is of only 22.5%.
“Regrettably, all our efforts to persuade the population to get vaccinated do not produce results, while the number of cases has grown a lot. The average infection rate the past seven days is 211 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, which means that we have an orange alert level nationwide. In the municipality of Chisinau, we have a contradictory situation. On the one hand, we have the highest vaccination rate of over 30% here. On the other hand, we have citizens who do not obey any of the sanitary norms. The level of education and responsibility of some of our compatriots does not correspond to the 21st century,” coordinator of the vaccination campaign Ninel Revenco stated in the talk show “Friday with Anatolie Golea” on RTR Moldova channel.
According to specialists, all the restrictions that took effect on October 1 are aimed at reducing the burden borne by the health system. If the number of daily infections continues to rise, the restrictions should be made harsher.
“The restrictions produce results not when they are put on paper, but when they are obeyed. We must not forget that we entered the cold period of the year and the situation will yet worsen as there are many other viruses and the pressure on the health system will be very great. There is no drama is the people do not go to restaurants for two weeks. What is important is to remain alive. We must set the priorities correctly,” said public health expert Ala Tocarciuc.
Specialists say they cannot understand why the people oppose vaccination at a time when immunization at world level proved its efficiency as millions of people were saved from death.
“Those who are vaccinated can develop only a mild form of disease. Together with the appearance of the Delta variant, even those who got a vaccine can become infected, but statistics show that none of those who got vaccinated get under intensive care. The lethality among those vaccinated is close to zero. If there is a case of death among the vaccinated persons, it is caused by other diseases even if the patient is infected with SARS-COV2,” said university professor Sergey Șargu.
The highest rate of vaccination with the completed series in Moldova is in the municipality of Chisinau – 34%. The lowest vaccination rates, of 13% – 15%, were recorded in the districts of Leova, Sângerei and ATU Gagauzia. A lower vaccination rate is reported primarily among people aged between 18 and 29.
