At its session on Wednesday, the government approved Slovakia's national vaccination strategy against COVID-19. According to experts, vaccination is the most effective form of prevention. It protects the person vaccinated and provides collective immunity. In order to achieve this in the case of novel coronavirus, more than 60-70 percent of the population needs to be vaccinated. The Government approved the materials of the pandemic commission, adding comments.
When choosing a vaccine, the decisive criteria will be its safety, effectiveness, availability and price. According to the strategy, around 3.3 million Slovaks should be vaccinated. The process is expected to be gradual. Slovakia, as a member state of the European Union, has joined the joint public procurement of vaccines.
The jabs, for people aged 18 and more, will be administered in four waves. The first wave should include medical staff and workers in old people's homes but also, for example, police officers, soldiers and key infrastructure workers. The second wave will involve the vaccination of people over 65 and the chronically ill. In the third wave, people from marginalised Roma communities, homeless people, asylum seekers and, for example, teachers will be vaccinated. Only people over the age of 18 who are interested in vaccination should be vaccinated in the fourth wave. Vaccination will be free of charge.
According to the latest survey by the Globsec think tank, only 36 percent of people in Slovakia agree with getting a vaccine against COVID-19, which is the lowest percentage in the region.
