Chisinau hospitals are struggling to provide beds for coronavirus patients, with only 35% of the capital’s residents vaccinated against Covid. This was stated by Boris Gîlca, the municipality’s deputy chief health officer, as he briefed the City Council today.

Meanwhile, vaccination rates are close to 95-96% among the city’s health care personnel and school teachers, added Gîlca.

The Municipal Vaccination Center has the capacity to immunize 1200 people a day, as 70 other vaccination units are located in all the city’s medical institutions, including in the suburbs. There are also mobile vaccination units on trolleybuses and buses, which have immunized over 17,000 people since their launch on May 26.

According to Gîlca, the coronavirus situation today echoes this past spring. “The Covid hospitals in Chisinau are jam-packed. We are nearing the bed maximum, but there is a plan in place for a gradual activation of further health care locations. Intensive care units are almost out of beds. While a few are still available, they only appear after someone is discharged or, unfortunately, dies because of complications. Some 97-98 of those hospitalized in serious condition are not vaccinated”, said the official.

In Gîlca’s opinion, the municipality should impose a vaccine mandate, as the city has already lost over 2,000 people to Covid. “There is a lot to do still to convince people to get vaccinated. There are plenty of vaccines in stock in our medical institutions, and a wide variety of brands that are authorized by relevant institutions, the EU and the WHO”, said Gîlca.

Nationwide, the vaccination rate is around 23 percent.