ZAGREB, 13 Dec 2021 - People who think that the risk of COVID-19 is small are the most reluctant to get vaccinated, a study approved for publication in the Croatian Medical Journal shows.

The study, written by sociologists Dragan Bagić from the Zagreb Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and Adrijana Šuljok and Branko Ančić from the Institute for Social Research, is part of a project by the Croatian Science Foundation called "Resilience of Croatian society against the COVID-19 pandemic", the Jutarnji List daily wrote on Monday.

The purpose of the study was to establish who refuses to get vaccinated and why, and it was conducted on a sample of 765 respondents. It showed that over a third of the respondents hesitate or refuse to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

The most frequent reason given is that the vaccine is not safe enough or effective. Some of the respondents said they prefer natural immunity, i.e. recovering from the disease over vaccination, while some of the hesitant respondents also expressed mistrust of vaccines in general.

The study showed that young respondents, women, people with lower educational qualifications, and those living in small towns are more inclined to hesitate or refuse to get vaccinated. Foreign studies have also shown similar findings.

"These are the groups that the vaccination campaign should focus on," Šuljok was quoted as saying. "It should be borne in mind that some of these people cannot be influenced and are less likely to change their opinion. Our study has also shown that respondents who expressed mistrust of science are more inclined to hesitate or refuse to get vaccinated," she added.

Šuljok said that the term "anti-vaxxers", used to denote the people who hesitate or refuse to get vaccinated against COVID-19, is not appropriate because some of them are mistrustful of vaccines in general.

"By labeling all people, including those who are primarily afraid of the COVID-19 vaccine because it is new and has been developed quickly, as anti-vaxxers we are actually pushing them towards the group of real anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theorists, which might have negative consequences through increased opposition to 'regular' vaccines," Šuljok said.

She said that the public health campaign has failed to get the message across to a section of the population about the danger of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and that this was partly due to conflicting messages from the government advisory council and the predominant public narrative that mostly elderly people and serious patients get seriously ill.

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ZAGREB, 13 Dec 2021 - Croatia has registered 453 new coronavirus cases and 47 COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus crisis response team reported on Monday.

Currently, there are 21,581 active cases in the country. Among them are 2,300 infected people receiving hospital treatment, including 326 who are on ventilators, and 20,029 persons are self-isolating.

To date, 654,655 people have been registered as having contracted the SARS CoV-2 virus, of whom 11,666 have died and 621,408 have recovered, including 3,926 in the last 24 hours.

A total of 3,580,821 people have so far been tested for the new virus, including 2,528 in the last 24 hours.

As of Sunday, 4,386,603 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered, with 54.89 percent of the total population, or 65.42 percent of the adult population, having been vaccinated. A total of 2,227,358 people have received at least one dose and 2,039,788 have been fully vaccinated, which is 60.13 percent of the adult population.

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ZAGREB, 12 Dec 2021 - In the last  24 hours, there have been 2,339 new cases of the infection with coronavirus, and another 45 COVID patients have died, raising the COVID-related death toll to 11,619, Croatia's authorities said on Sunday. 

There are currently 25,101 active cases, and of the 2,293 are hospitalized patients, including 330 placed on ventilators.

Since the first registration of the infection with the novel virus on 25 February 2020, 654,202 persons have caught the virus, and of the 617,482 have recovered from the disease, including 3,676 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

Croatia has to date conducted roughly 3.58 million tests, including 7,810 in the last 24 hours when the positivity rate was 30%.

Since the start of the implementation of the vaccine rollout plan, 54.87% of the total population has got vaccinated. As many as 60.07% of adults have fully been vaccinated.

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ZAGREB, 11 Dec, 2021 - Croatia has registered 3,860 new coronavirus cases and 58 COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team reported on Saturday.

The number of active cases stands at 26,483 and among them 2,290 infected persons are receiving hospital treatment, including 323 who are on ventilators.

A total of 23,895 people are self-isolating.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case was confirmed in Croatia, 651,863 people have been registered as having contracted the SARS-CoV-2 virus, of whom 11,574 have died.

A total of 613,806 people have recovered, including 4,143 in the last 24 hours.

To date, 3,570,483 people have tested for the new virus, of whom 11,161 in the last 24 hours.

54.81% of total population vaccinated

As of Friday, 4,361,237 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered, with 54.81 per cent of the total population, or 65.36 per cent of the adult population, having been vaccinated.

A total of 2,224,323 people have received at least one dose and 2,029,476 of them have been fully vaccinated, which is 59.84 per cent of the adult population.

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ZAGREB, 10 Dec 2021 - Croatia has registered 3,797 new coronavirus cases and 71 COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team reported on Friday.

The number of active cases stands at 26,824 and among them 2,329 infected persons are receiving hospital treatment, including 326 who are on ventilators.

A total of 23,617 people are self-isolating.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case was confirmed in Croatia, 648,003 people have been registered as having contracted the SARS-CoV-2 virus, of whom 11,516 have died.

A total of 609,663 people have recovered, including 4,585 in the last 24 hours.

To date, 3,559,322 people have tested for the new virus, of whom 11,178 in the last 24 hours.

As of Thursday, 4,338,159 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered, with 54.74 per cent of the total population, or 65.28 per cent of the adult population, having been vaccinated. A total of 2,221,412 people have received at least one dose and 2,019,336 of them have been fully vaccinated, which is 59.56 per cent of the adult population.

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ZAGREB, 8 Dec, 2021 - Croatia has registered 4,751 new coronavirus cases and 54 COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team reported on Wednesday morning.

The number of active cases stands at 27,221 and among them are 2,412 infected persons receiving hospital treatment, including 320 who are on ventilators. A total of 22,342 people are self-isolating.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case was confirmed in Croatia, 639,778 people have been registered as having contracted the SARS-CoV-2 virus, of whom 11,383 have died and 601,174 have recovered, including 2,583 in the last 24 hours.

To date, 3,535,311 people have tested for the new virus, of whom 12,790 in the last 24 hours.

As of Tuesday, 4,289,179 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered, with 54.56 per cent of the total population, or 65.07 per cent of the adult population, having been vaccinated. A total of 2,214,222 people have received at least one dose and 1,998,930 of them have been fully vaccinated, which is 58.97 per cent of the adult population.

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ZAGREB, 7 Dec, 2021 - The Croatian Institute of Public Health said on Tuesday that all contacts of persons infected or suspected to be infected with the Omicron COVID-19 variant must quarantine for 14 days, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated or have recovered from the disease.

They must also undergo PCR testing on the first and last days of the quarantine. If Omicron infection is ruled out, the 14-day quarantine ends.

Croatia has confirmed three Omicron cases to date.

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ZAGREB, 7 Dec, 2021 - Croatia has registered 3,262 new coronavirus cases and 60 COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team said on Tuesday,

The number of active cases in the country currently stands at 25,107 and among them are 2,436 infected people who are receiving hospital treatment, including 319 who are on ventilators. A total of 20,937 persons are self-isolating.

To date, 3,522,521 people have tested for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, including 10,244 in the last 24 hours.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in Croatia, 635,027 people have been registered as having contracted the new virus, of whom 11,329 have died and 598,591 have recovered, including 3,662 in the last 24 hours.

As of Monday, 4,266,743 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered, with 54.47 per cent of the total population, or 64.97 per cent of the adult population, having been vaccinated. A total of 2,210,635 persons have received at least one dose and 1,989,027 of them have been fully vaccinated, which is 58.69 per cent of the adult population.

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ZAGREB, 6 Dec 2021 - The Iustitia et Pax Commission of the Croatian Conference of Catholic Bishops (HBK) on Monday joined Pope Francis in his appeal for getting vaccinated, explaining that the COVID-19 pandemic requires responsible behavior, including renouncing personal freedoms.

The HBK commission issued a press release in which it recommends vaccination against coronavirus as an act of love, as suggested by Pope Francis in several appeals, however, the Croatian Justice and Peace Commission also warned against making use of COVID certificates as an indirect form of coercion.

The press release reads that the COVID-19 pandemic caught everybody unprepared and it "often juxtaposes the fundamental values and the acquired freedoms."

"All of that requires of us to show great responsibility and prudence, as well as to make sacrifices for the sake of our fellow humans, including relinquishing certain personal freedoms."

The press release signed by the commission's president, Osijek Archbishop Đuro Hranić, reads that the developments had led to the social conflicts and divisions that caused mistrust of institutions and science, thus creating space for pseudo-scientific speech and conspiracy theories.

In this context, the commission mentions cases of persons who negated the appearance of the COVID-19 pandemic and spread fear, which was conducive to the rifts in the society.

Admitting that some of those pandemic negators are members of the Church, the commission says that such persons have done damage to themselves as well as to fellow humans and to the reputation of the Catholic Church.

The press release further reads that vaccination is not a moral obligation and ought to be on a voluntary basis, however, the conscience of individuals must not become blind.

Thus, during the pandemic, people are called upon to take care of each other, and in this spirit, they are expected to follow the appeal of Pope Francis who has underscored on several occasions that getting vaccinated is an act of love.

The commission also underscores that all the approved vaccines against coronavirus are morally acceptable, as stated by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and also points out the importance of complying with all the epidemiological rules, including testing and inoculation.

Vaccination on a voluntary basis

The press release, however, calls for avoiding making use of COVID-19 certificates as indirect coercion for immunization or making use of vaccination as a precondition for employment, as this causes fear and resistance among people.

For more, check out our politics section.

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ZAGREB, 6 Dec 2021 - The head of the Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ), Krunoslav Capak, said on Monday that two people in the country had been found to be infected with the new Covid variant, Omicron.

The two patients have not developed any serious symptoms of the infection and all their contacts are under surveillance, Capak told a news conference.

The patients had been at a business meeting, and there are possibilities that other participants could have caught it, too, said epidemiologist Bernard Kaić.

According to Capak, Croatia has taken all the necessary measures to slow down the spread of the new variant.

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