Around 10,000 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine will be delivered to the Czech Republic over the holidays. The first deliveries will go to four hospitals in Prague and two in Brno. Emergency medical staff will be the first to receive the vaccine. Photo: Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (2020) D (cropped). Credit: Lisa Ferdinando / U.S. Secretary of Defense via Wikimedia Commons under license CC BY 2.0.
Brno, Dec 22 (BD) – A total of 9,750 doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine are set to arrive in the Czech Republic on December 26th. Half of the vaccines will be distributed to the allocated hospitals in Prague and half will be sent to two hospitals in Brno.
On December 27th, the first 5,000 vaccines will arrive in Brno to be given to healthcare professionals working in intensive care. The vaccinations in Brno will be administered by the University Hospital Brno (FN Brno) and St. Anne’s Hospital.
The Health Minister Jan Blatný (for ANO) will be the first to receive the vaccine, along with hospital management and then emergency staff. FN Brno plans to conduct the vaccinations in the reserve hospital at the Exhibition Centre.
At a press conference on Monday, Blatný said that “Throughout January, vaccinations will be carried out for key healthcare staff and seniors, with a focus on those in nursing homes, because they are among the most high-risk groups.” The minister commented that, as vaccinations will focus on seniors and healthcare staff, it will not be possible for anyone else from the general public to get vaccinated until February. Vaccination against coronavirus is voluntary and is covered by public health insurance.
According to Ondřej Ludka, Medical Deputy Manager of FN Brno, the hospital workers (over 6,000) will be vaccinated over the holidays. The hospital should subsequently receive around 10,000 vaccines a week in January for vaccination of the public – between 1,200 and 1,400 people can be vaccinated each day. Further vaccinations should also be offered by regional hospitals and Brno’s St. Anne’s Hospital.
“We have registered the interest of about 2,090 employees. About 2,000 doses will be given to St. Anne’s Hospital. Brno city hospitals have shown interest in 400 doses, and regional hospitals are also interested,” said Ludka.
The reserve hospital at the Exhibition Centre was constructed to house patients suffering from coronavirus, but there are currently sufficient beds for patients in regular hospitals. The vaccinations will be performed by a team of six doctors and 18 nurses who work in global disasters, with assistance from volunteers.
Several freezers on the premises in Bohunice will be used to store the vaccines. “We are able to store hundreds of thousands of doses, so we have plenty of capacity for what we have been promised by the ministry. There is a plan for around 10,000 vaccines a week for January, about 40,000 doses for citizens for a month,” said Ludka.
