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Poles aged 65-66 sign up for COVID-19 shots

22.03.2021 06:01
Poles who are 65 and 66 years old are now able to sign up to receive a COVID-19 vaccine as the country steps up its inoculation campaign.
Photo:
Photo:PAP/Leszek Szymański

Registration for those born in 1955 and 1956 opened at 6 a.m. on Monday.

Later this week, those born between 1957 and 1961 will be able to follow suit.

All citizens in these age groups will receive a vaccine developed by drug maker AstraZeneca, according to officials.

People can send a text message to sign up for a shot. They can also go online to register or call a 989 vaccination hotline to schedule an appointment.

Direct reservations at vaccination sites are possible, but officials have advised people against visiting in person to limit the risk of exposure.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki last week encouraged Poles to vaccinate themselves against COVID-19 using the AstraZeneca shot.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Thursday the vaccine was “safe and effective.”

The European Union's drug watchdog told an online news conference it was convinced the benefits of AstraZeneca's vaccine outweighed the risks following an investigation into reports of blood disorders that prompted more than a dozen nations at one point to suspend its use.

Poland hopes to vaccinate 60 to 70 percent of its population against the coronavirus by the autumn, Health Minister Adam Niedzielski has told the media.

On Friday, a fresh supply of around 65,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine arrived in Poland, Michał Kuczmierowski, head of the Government Strategic Reserves Agency, told reporters.

Earlier last week, Poland received about 380,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 shot, according to Deputy Health Minister Waldemar Kraska.

Frontline healthcare workers were first in line to be inoculated in Poland, followed by nursing home residents.

Other priority groups include the elderly, people with chronic health conditions, teachers, police, and soldiers.

Poland last week began administering COVID-19 vaccines to cancer patients and people suffering from various chronic diseases.

More than 6,000 vaccination sites are available to citizens as the country rolls out its COVID-19 inoculation programme, according to the prime minister's top aide, Michał Dworczyk, who is spearheading the drive.

Michał Dworczyk, the man in charge of Poland's COVID-19 vaccination campaign. Michał Dworczyk, the man in charge of Poland's COVID-19 vaccination campaign. Photo: PAP/Aleksander Koźmiński

(gs/pk)

Source: IAR, polskieradio24.pl