ZAGREB, 6 Nov 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Saturday that all Croatian citizens should get vaccinated against COVID-19 as that would certainly reduce the rate of new infections, the number of hospitalizations, and consequently the number of deaths, also advising people to get a booster dose.
Plenković was speaking to the press after visiting Zagreb's Dubrava hospital, where he and Health Minister Vili Beroš met with the hospital's management and the national coronavirus response team and visited the intensive care unit.
Plenković said that Croatia had sufficient quantities of COVID-19 vaccines, adding that vaccination would reduce the number of deaths and infections. He once again appealed to people who had not been immunized to get vaccinated.
He said that the data of the past few days was encouraging as it indicated a growing interest among the citizens in getting vaccinated. In the last three days alone, 23,000 people have received their first shot, he added.
The prime minister stressed that Croatia had dedicated medical staff and an abundance of vaccines, stressing that people had a responsibility towards contributing to this collective effort.
"Anyone who thinks that the situation is not difficult should visit this hospital for 30 seconds and they would immediately change their mind," Plenković said.
Asked to comment on the statement by right-wing MP Zlatko Hasanbegović that he will not get vaccinated or tested and that it is his right to have the virus, Plenković said that the statement is idiotic. He added that being a member of Parliament does not give Hasanbegović the right to talk nonsense.
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