30% of Croats Refused AstraZeneca Vaccination on Friday?
March 12, 2021 - Dr. Nataša Ban Toskić revealed that 30% of Croats refused AstraZeneca vaccination on Friday.
Index.hr reports that after ten countries announced in the last two days that they are temporarily suspendeding the AstraZeneca vaccination, several people in Croatia refused to be vaccinated with the same vaccine.
"Approximately 30 percent of people in the whole of Croatia, as I heard from colleagues from all over the country, today refused to come to the scheduled appointment for a vaccination with AstraZeneca. What I heard from colleagues and what I saw in my office is that people were very scared of it. Some of the patients scheduled for today canceled their vaccination, and those we offered it to after they canceled also refused to be vaccinated with AstraZeneca," said Dr. Nataša Ban Toskić, President of the Coordination of Croatian Family Medicine, for Index.
She states that even before this temporary vaccination suspension in other countries, patients had many questions about AstraZeneca, but that they were still vaccinated in the end.
"They had doubts, but they would still come. Today they refused en masse. There is a difficult situation in practice. Normally, people are confused and scared; our umbrella institutions should better communicate the AstraZeneca vaccine to the public and patients. I am thinking of HALMED, HZJZ, the Ministry of Health, and HZZO.
These institutions should publish concrete information on the situation with this vaccine in several media and several times," explained Dr. Ban Toskić.
He states that family doctors have been put in a rather awkward position.
"We don't have the information of which vaccine we will get, when and in what quantity it will arrive, and that puts us in a rather awkward position because we are on the first line of communication with patients. There is a danger that we are the only ones to bear the consequences of angry patients' lawsuits because we as vaccinators are the only responsible person if something happens to patients. At the same time, we do not influence which vaccine we get. We must adhere to official guidelines; we cannot now refuse to be vaccinated with AstraZeneca based on other countries' decisions.
We are in a problematic situation because if we do not vaccinate patients with the vaccine we received, then we are guilty, and if we vaccinate them, we can be guilty again. It would be extremely fair to the patients and us to intensively inform the public about the new situation with AstraZeneca," believes Dr. Ban Toskić.
He also states that the problem is that in most counties, there are no mobile vaccination teams for immobile and immobile patients.
They are especially concerned, he says, with the information that doctors will have to go to homes on their own and vaccinate patients.
"This is out of the question in these circumstances. There is no chance that the vaccinator comes alone and risks an unfavorable outcome. We need to have teams equipped in case of an allergic reaction to provide first aid to the patient immediately.
Also, it is imperative to follow the rules of cold transport and transfer the vaccine in the refrigerator. This can only be done by a mobile team, not by an individual going with their purse on public transport or in their car without a refrigerator. And what if an adverse event occurs then, then accuse the doctor of not adequately transporting the vaccine? There are a lot of problems here. Honestly, it is unbelievable that to date, no mobile teams have been established in all cities and counties. Vaccination has been going on for three months now," Dr. Ban Toskić told Index.
Dr. Tanja Pekez said that she would see how the vaccination situation would develop next week, but that so far, everything was going well in her office.
"So far, it's been good, considering that the nurse and I have put in a lot of time and effort. For the first 42 patients, the nurse and I spent 8 hours determining who would be called. We called them all, and we referred calls to reserve patients because some of those invited canceled, then the vaccination started. As for the further situation with the vaccination, no one can know how things will go because everything has become a matter of politics. Britain picked up a huge amount of vaccines, then the explosion of a vaccine factory in India. Then there is the issue of Russian and possibly Chinese vaccines entering the European market. So, the predictions about vaccination are more in the domain of politics, and that should have been predicted by politicians, not only in Croatia but in the whole EU, and coordinated," Dr. Pekez told Index.
She also states that patients became more interested in vaccination after the media published information about who got vaccinated. Still, she does not know how things will turn out after the latest events in the EU.
"In the end, I would like to add that because of the mental health of young people and the middle generation, we should have vaccinated them first so that we would have more freedom of movement. And we should finally start sanctioning inappropriate behavior," she added.
Recall, nine European countries and Thailand have suspended AstraZeneca vaccination because there have been several cases of blood clotting problems after vaccination and two deaths in Italy and one each in Denmark and Austria.
Denmark, Norway, and Iceland have temporarily suspended AstraZeneca vaccination, while Italy and Austria have stopped using certain vaccine batches as a precaution. Suspensions in Italy and Austria include different series of vaccines - in Austria, it is the ABV5300 series, and in Italy, the ABV2856. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Luxembourg have suspended the use of the series that Austria has also suspended. Thailand has also announced that it is suspending AstraZeneca vaccination.
At a press conference on Friday, Krunoslav Capak, head of the CNIPH, commented on the situation with AstraZeneca.
"As you know, Austria, followed by several EU countries, has decided to suspend vaccination with AstraZeneca temporarily. Sixteen EU countries have received a vaccine of the same series as Austria. Their decision is a precaution due to thromboembolic events. If they are found not to be related to vaccination, vaccination will continue. As for Croatia, we did not get that series, but we are vaccinating with another series. We did not have groupings of thromboembolic events. So we decided to continue vaccinating with AstraZeneca. In Croatia, the incidence of thromboembolic events is 61 per 100,000; there are slightly more than one per week with a fatal outcome. They are happening in Croatia as well," Capak said.
Alemka Markotić said that it would be imperative for Croatia to preserve the Institute of Immunology and get involved in vaccine production.
To read more about COVID-19 in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman Thanks Greece For Post-Earthquake Aid
ZAGREB, 12 March, 2021 - Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman on Friday thanked his Greek counterpart Nikolaos Dendias for his country's aid to Croatia after last year's devastating earthquakes.
"I'm taking this opportunity to thank Minister Dendias for the generous and prompt humanitarian aid that Greece sent to earthquake-hit areas in Croatia," Grlić Radman said in Athens, where he arrived for an official visit a day after visiting Cyprus.
"Greece itself was recently hit by strong earthquakes and I'm conveying our support and willingness to help," he added.
Greece was struck by two tremors earlier this month, the strongest measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale, which caused material damage but no fatalities.
Support for Croatia's membership bids
Grlić Radman also thanked Dendias for the Greek support for Croatia's accession to MED7, a group which comprises seven Mediterranean EU member states - Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain.
He also thanked Dendias for supporting Croatia's accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the euro and Schengen areas.
The two ministers underlined the importance of continuing EU enlargement to Southeast Europe and of Brussels having a consistent policy so that candidates do not lose the European perspective.
Grlić Radman cited Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is having a hard time managing the migrant crisis, and underlined solidarity with Greece, which is also on the front line of that "big political, security and economic problem."
The minister said they were pleased with the increase in Croatian-Greek trade, singling out the Greek company Avax, which is building access roads to the Pelješac Bridge in Croatia.
For more about earthquakes in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
President Zoran Milanović: "Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković Has Done the Impermissible"
ZAGREB, 12 March, 2021 - President Zoran Milanović on Friday said that Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković has done something that is unprecedented and impermissible by asking him, as the proposer, to supplement his draft decision on the selection of the Supreme Court president.
Jandroković sent back Milanović's draft decision after identifying some shortcomings.
Milanović said that Jandroković put his recommendation for the Supreme Court candidate "in a drawer," underscoring that Jandroković has no right to do so.
"He has no right to do that, whatever the HDZ majority in the Committee on the Constitution, thinks," Milanović told reporters in Požega after attending an oath giving ceremony by the 29th generation of volunteer army recruits.
Only thing protecting Jandroković from consequences is his immunity
Milanović said that the Speaker had done something he is not allowed to and the "only thing protecting him from the consequences is his immunity."
"He stole the document I sent to the parliament and allowed himself to interpret it... and assess the legality of my recommendation," claimed Milanović, adding that only the parliament can decide on the legality of something and not Jandroković.
"In future too he or anyone else can do what they want with documents and proposals. That is (ruling party) HDZ's message to parliament and its partners in the government... and if they want to agree to Jandroković shelving issues at his discretion and conducting a legislative analysis of a proposal's admissibility, let them do so. That is the road to tyranny," underscored Milanović.
Jandroković has privatised the position of Parliament Speaker
Milanović called out Jandroković for "privatising the position of Parliament Speaker," which the "HDZ majority in the parliamentary Committee on the Constitution gave him the right to do."
Milanović underscored that his recommendation for president of the Supreme Court, Zlata Đurđević, is a good choice, reiterating his stance that a public call for applications for the position is not transparent and that he as the president of the country has the authority to recommend a candidate.
"If you don't like it, abolish it, but it exists - all my authority and duty is to make a recommendation and I did so and that is the most transparent way possible. The public call is not transparent. Hundreds of Croatian lawyers are perhaps scared and don't want to participate in a travesty... Professor Đurđević is my candidate. Reject her, I dare you!" said Milanović.
He also commented on criticism by some constitutional law experts of his refusing to support one of the candidates that applied for the position, saying that these were people who wish to become Constitutional Court judges and are just waiting outside the Constitutional Court door waiting for a public call so they "can jump in."
For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
Most Epidemiological Restrictions Extended Until End of March
ZAGREB, 12 March, 2021 - Croatia has a 26% weekly increase in the number of new coronavirus infections and most epidemiological restrictions will be extended until the end of March but outdoor sports competitions will be allowed, the national COVID-19 response team said on Friday.
Most existing epidemiological restrictions will remain in force.
One of the changes is that it will be possible to change the maximum allowed number of attendees at cultural events through recommendations by the Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ), without waiting for a decision by the national COVID-19 response team, and outdoor sports competitions will be allowed as well, the team's head, Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović, said.
Restrictions regarding gatherings, passenger transport, shops' working hours and border crossing will be extended until 31 March and a decision on that will take effect on 13 March, said Božinović.
As for decisions at the local level, restrictions will be extended in Dubrovnik-Neretva County while COVID-19 response teams in counties with a marked increase in the number of new infections will be expected to propose restrictions in line with the local situation.
Share of positive tests 13.8%; Inoculation with AstraZeneca vaccine continues
Croatia today reported 823 new infections of 5,945 tests conducted in the past 24 hours, the percentage of positive tests being 13.8%. The average age of those who have died is 77.5 years and the youngest person was 62, Assistant Health Minister Vera Katalinić-Janković said.
HZJZ head Krunoslav Capak warned that the number of new infections this week was 26% higher than last week.
"Istria County has the lowest incidence, and Dubrovnik-Neretva County the highest. As for the seven-day incidence, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County is at the top, however, epidemiologists say that there are no major hot spots there but rather a lot of small hot spots due to socialising," said Capak.
He also pointed to an increase in the share of positive cases in the number of tests done, which today was 13.8%.
Commenting on reported side effects of the vaccines, he said most reports referred to the Pfizer vaccine, 898, followed by AstraZeneca's vaccine, 337, and Moderna's, 81.
Despite the fact that in some EU countries inoculation with AstraZeneca's vaccine has been suspended, Croatia will continue using the vaccine.
Capak said that the AstraZeneca vaccine Croatia obtained was not from the same series as that obtained by Austria and 15 other EU countries. Countries that have discontinued inoculation with that vaccine have done so until the reported side effects are investigated, he said.
"If it is established that the thromboembolisms reported are not related to the vaccine, countries that have suspended vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine will continue the vaccination process. Croatia did not receive that vaccine series... and will continue using the AstraZeneca vaccine," he said.
He also commented on an announcement that the deliveries of the AstraZeneca vaccine would be much smaller than agreed.
"We were to receive 19,200 doses in the third week of March and will receive 7,200. In the fourth week of March, we were to receive 79,568 doses and will receive 9,800," he said.
As for the vaccine of the US company Johnson & Johnson, Capak said that the vaccine will soon be registered in the EU but could not tell how many doses Croatia would obtain considering reports that the US government would first supply the US market with the agreed quantities and then start exports to other countries.
Asked about alternative vaccine imports, Capak said that the documentation requested from the Russian producer had still not arrived, which was a precondition to launch emergency imports.
Meanwhile, the Russian manufacturer has launched the process of registration of the vaccine with the European Medicines Agency and Capak said he believed the process would soon be completed and that Croatia would be able to import the vaccine normally.
As for the Chinese vaccine, not much information is known but the HZJZ today held an online meeting with its producers, Capak said, adding that he would inform the public of the meeting on Monday.
For more about COVID-19 in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
25% of Respondents in Croatia Tested Positive For COVID-19 Antibodies
ZAGREB, 12 March, 2021 - Croatian Public Health Institute director Krunoslav Capak on Friday presented the results of a serological study showing that 25% of 1,436 respondents had tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies, meaning that they had been in contact with the coronavirus.
A similar study carried out last spring revealed that only 2.2% of 1,088 respondents were positive for COVID-19 antibodies.
"In the first study, 24 out of 1,088 respondents tested positive for immunoglobulin antibodies, which is 2.2%. In the second study, 360 out of 1,436 respondents were positive for immunoglobulins, which is 25.1%," Capak said at a press conference of the national COVID-19 response team.
"It should be noted that the blood samples were taken in late December, in January and an in early February. No major impact of the vaccination could be seen because only a small number of people were vaccinated at the time. The first study covered a smaller number of counties where we took the blood samples, while the second study covered all the counties," he added.
Antibodies were evenly present in all age groups. Their presence was lower in people aged over 70 years and in children aged under 10, whose proportion of positive cases in the study was 19.2%.
The study also showed that 75% of the persons positive for immunoglobulins were immune to COVID-19.
Capak said that this sample was representative and showed that 25% of people had been in contact with the coronavirus.
"There are 240,000 people in Croatia who have been infected with the coronavirus to date, while four times as many have come into contact with the virus, which is a million people," Capak said.
For more about COVID-19 in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
Parl. Parties Endorse Ratification of Classified Information Agreement With Spain
ZAGREB, 12 March, 2021 - Croatian parliamentary parties on Friday endorsed the proposal to ratify the Agreement on Mutual Protection of Classified Information between the governments of Croatia and Spain.
During the discussion, Zvonimir Troskot (Bridge) noted that Croatia and Spain had had good bilateral relations since the 1990s, sharing the same principles and goals.
"Both countries are facing the same challenges - migration, the fight against terrorism, climate change, Spanish companies are already present on our market, so why are we ratifying this agreement only now?" Troskot asked.
Juro Martinović, State Secretary at the Ministry of Justice and Administration, said that "there is nothing spectacularly new" in the Agreement. "States always regulate such matters. Under international law, Croatia is a successor to many agreements concluded by (former Yugoslavia)," he added.
Martinović said that the Agreement had been signed on 15 December 2020 and that it established a legal framework for the protection of classified information that is generated or exchanged between the parties, and designated competent authorities for the implementation of the Agreement. The Agreement also determines equivalent classification levels, national measures to protect classified information and mechanisms for transmission of such information.
Independent MP Marijana Petir asked Martinović if Croatia had similar agreements with other EU countries and whether there had been any violations of those agreements, to which he said that he had no knowledge of any violations.
Ivan Budalić of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) said that Croatia had similar agreements with many countries, including Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Sweden and Italy.
Dalija Orešković (Centre party) was interested to know who had decided on concluding the Agreement, who had appointed the delegation and whether the President of the Republic was involved in the process, to which Martinović said that the Agreement enters into force after it is signed by the President of the Republic and published in the Official Gazette and the two governments exchange notes.
For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
Kontrapunkt Armchair by Prostoria: Homage to Zagreb's Modernist Architecture Heritage
March 12, 2021 – Prostoria, one of the leading regional furniture design companies and most innovative platforms that unites Croatian product designers, has introduced an interesting new project – a Kontrapunkt armchair, as an homage to Zagreb's Modernist architecture heritage.
Within the project, their Kontrapunkt armchair, designed by the architects Marijan Haberle, Minka Jurković, and Tanja Zdvořak, was photographed at the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall, one of Zagreb's iconic buildings that represent Croatian Modernist architectural heritage.
"The Kontrapunkt armchair is only one of the products that are yet to be photographed in spaces where they can put their Modernist heritage or the contemporariness of the product or both in the spotlight," said Dora Lončarić from Biro architects, the project's art directors.
Biro / Marko Mihaljević
Although more than half a century stands between the Modernist architecture and current products by Prostoria, they speak a similar designers' language and communicate among themselves naturally, given their complementary and uncompromising character.
"The point is not returning to the past, but rather the exploration and convergence of the values. Through this symbiosis of the Modernist architectural heritage and contemporary design by Prostoria, a synthesis is being achieved," theoretician of architecture Maroje Mrduljaš stressed.
As Croatia's capital, Zagreb is one of the rare cities in the world with such a deeply rooted tradition of Modernism in architecture. This heritage is a root and an inspiration for the design language of their products. The photographs of the Kontrapunkt (design: Neisako) are part of a larger editorial-work in progress, taken at different buildings from that period of the Croatian architectural past.
The whole project will be presented extensively during 2021. It has been realized in close cooperation with the Zagreb Tourist Board and the public institutions where the editorial will take place.
To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
Croatia's February Industrial Consumer Prices Down 0.8% Year-Over-Year
ZAGREB, 12 March, 2021 - Croatia's industrial producer prices fell by 0.8% in February 2021 compared with the same month in 2020, while increasing by 1.4% from January 2021, according to the data from the National Bureau of Statistics (DZS).
The annual downward trend has been present since March 2020 when industrial producer prices dropped by 2.7% compared with March 2019. The 0.8% decrease in February 2021 is the lowest in the last 11 months, while the highest annual decline was recorded in May 2020, of 6.6%.
In February 2021, compared with January 2021, industrial producer prices rose by 1.3% on foreign markets, while compared with February 2020 they declined by 2.1%. On the domestic market, they increased by 1.4% compared with January 2021 and by 0.2% compared with February 2020.
Month on month, prices of energy grew the most, by 5.1%, followed by intermediate goods (+0.7%), capital goods (+0.2%), non-durable consumer goods (+0.1%) and durable consumer goods (+0.1%).
Year on year, industrial producer prices rose by 1.2% for capital goods, by 1.1% for intermediate goods and by 0.4% for durable consumer goods, while decreasing by 4.9% for energy and by 0.3% for non-durable consumer goods.
For more about business in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
Croatia and Israel Discuss Protocols Facilitating Travel
ZAGREB, 12 March, 2021 - Croatia and Israel have started talks on travel and protocols for tourists from the two countries, Tourism and Sports Minister Nikolina Brnjac said on Friday, hopeful an agreement would soon be reached.
Brnjac and Israeli Ambassador Ilan Mor met on Thursday to discuss the travel protocols with the aim of reaching an agreement that would facilitate travel for tourists from both countries during the pandemic.
The minister expressed satisfaction with the meeting at which she informed the ambassador of other activities of her ministry, including a project with the website "Safe stay in Croatia", which provides visitors to Croatia with information on locations and epidemiological restrictions in force as well as recommendations for health safety.
She spoke of special safety protocols which anyone applying for the "Safe stay in Croatia" certificate must comply with and explained how businesses with that certificate would be monitored.
For more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
Nedeljka Nena Krupljan Fights for Michelin Star at Istrian Konoba Morgan
March 12, 2021 – Well-known sommelier and a successful head of legendary Istrian Konoba Morgan in Brtonigla, Nedeljka Nena Krupljan, is fighting for neither more nor less than a Michelin star.
Since Konoba Morgan has had a recommendation for four years now, this goal is actually reasonably achievable. Nedeljka Krupljan, also called Nena, has been fully engaged in this goal since she has been working in the hospitality industry for years now. She has started her professional career very young, learning a lot from her first employer, the famous Jelena Šimić Valentić of Pupitres wine bar in Zagreb. Later on, she enrolled in Croatian Sommelier Club education and is happy to single out Filip Savić, a renowned Istrian sommelier, as her mentor.
"He helped me a lot not only to learn and study but follow my dreams and become a good sommelier," says Nena, who is currently as passionate about extra virgin olive oils as she is about wines.
The first serious wine chart she has done by herself was for Barbieri's restaurant in Zagreb, and it consisted of more than 140 labels. She was also in charge of the Wine bar in Primošten, where she has organized wine dinners. When she returned to Zagreb, she got a job at one of the more prestigious restaurants in Zagreb, Noel, the only one in the capital that is awarded one Michelin star.
"Colleagues Ivan Jug and Goran Petrić were extremely kind and helpful, and I appreciate the experience of organizing wine dinners with the internationally well-known winemakers there," says Nena.
Last year, Nedeljka worked at Roxanich Wine hotel in Motovun before finally settling down at Konoba Morgan. Her new project under the name "Cheers with You" by Nedeljka Krupljan is very interesting. The idea is to introduce primarily foreign but Croatian tourists as well with the world of Croatian wines.
She is offering a short and entertaining, as well as very educational programme with tasting a minimum of six wines, where the client can choose between Wines of Croatia, Wines of Istria, or Premium wines of Croatia – along with snacks from Konoba Morgan.
She has also designed a map of Croatian wineries (of the wines tasted), and it can be taken home and hung on the wall as a souvenir from Croatia.
The programme is mobile, so if you are on a villa or on a yacht somewhere in Croatia, you can contact Nena and schedule the tasting tour. She will come, bring wines, food, and knowledge. All you have to do is to have fun, and – cheers!
Nedeljka Nena Krupljan Facebook
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