Thanks to support from the struggling city company Brno Trade Fairs, which manages the Brno Exhibition Centre, the large-capacity vaccination centre is ready to become operational. The facility is using the premises of the reserve field hospital built by the City of Brno in November. Photo: Vaccination centre at the Brno Exhibition Grounds. Credit: M. Schmerkova / MMB.
Brno, Jan 15 (BD) – The large-capacity vaccination centre at the Brno Exhibition Grounds is ready to become fully operational, as the first of its kind in the Czech Republic. While it is uncertain when vaccinations will begin, it is possible that the process will initially be managed in hospitals. Applicants will receive detailed information on the vaccination procedure after they have registered and received a time-slot.
The construction and operation of the reserve hospital and vaccination centre at the exhibition centre is largely a result of financial support and forward planning from the City of Brno.
As Mayor of Brno Markéta Vaňková (ODS) explained: “It is confirmed again that our step was the right one – to have a backup hospital designed and approved by the competent authorities during the first wave of the pandemic, which we then built exclusively with the city’s money and whose operation we have since co-financed by one third. And I am pleased that the premises of the converted pavilion will be used for the needs of the vaccination center, where the vaccine will be provided to more than 3,000 people a day.”
The city company Veletrhy Brno (Brno Trade Fairs) is assisting the city in this critical situation, despite being almost forced into liquidation due to the economic restrictions.
“Veletrhy Brno is 100% owned by the City of Brno, and if it were not for that, this company would probably already be insolvency by now. Thanks to the maximum help and cooperation we have provided, not only are they still running, but they have also helped us to build a reserve hospital,” said Vaňková.
While the Brno Exhibition Centre is playing a significant role in managing and responding to the epidemiological situation, the City argues that the government’s anti-epidemic measures have had a negative impact on the regular operation of the facilities.
“The government has repeatedly harmed Veletrhy Brno with its regulations and related steps. Already from the end of the first wave, it refused to accept our comments that the trade fair business works completely differently, in terms of the movement of visitors, from events like music festivals, and therefore it was not necessary to apply such drastic restrictions on the number of people present. And then by the decision that public sector-owned or established trade fair companies and organizations are not entitled to the special compensation available for other businesses in this field,” added Vaňková.
Vaccination
Getting vaccinated against coronavirus is voluntary and free. Foreigners with legal residence in the Czech Republic and Czech health insurance are are eligible for vaccination.
According to the vaccination strategy, seniors over 80 years old will be vaccinated first. They may register on the central reservation system on crs.uzis.cz (only available in Czech) from Friday, January 15th. To support seniors with registration and reservations, the application can be made by their family relatives, social workers, or by calling staff on the 1221 national support infoline.
This article has been prepared in collaboration with Brno Municipality.
