ZAGREB, 27 March 2022 - More than 275,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been destroyed in Croatia due to expiration or failed donation, and close to two million doses, made by different producers, have been kept in storage, officials of the Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ) have said.

A total of 275,799 doses have been destroyed, of which 154,644 were produced by AstraZeneca.

A total of 5.2 million doses have been administered.

Interest in vaccination has been very low in recent weeks, with only about 150 people getting vaccinated with their first dose on a daily basis lately. The new, protein-based vaccine, made with traditional technology and available for the past three weeks, has not altered the situation.

Some anti-vaxxers had claimed they were waiting for that specific vaccine, however, HZJZ data show that so far only 286 people have been vaccinated with the new protein-based vaccine, while 153,445 doses are kept in storage.

HZJZ officials say the poor interest is as expected as those who had wanted to get vaccinated were able to choose over the past year and a half, between four vaccines, made by AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson&Johnson.

The largest amount of unused vaccines, 117,274 doses, was reported by Split-Dalmatia County, which is also the county with the lowest vaccination rate, with only 38.39% of the population having received the second shot.

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ZAGREB, 30 Dec 2021 - Health Minister Vili Beroš reiterated on Thursday that the fifth wave of COVID-19 infection, with the Omicron variant, was expected in the second half of January and once again called on citizens to get a booster jab, warning that most likely everyone will come into contact with Omicron.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting, he said there were 24 confirmed Omicron cases in Croatia but that without stepping up vaccination and strictly complying with the rules, "we probably won't be able to avoid the effects of the full force of the fifth wave in the second half of January."

Beroš said 42% of the tests done in the last 24 hours were positive and that Dalmatia, which has the lowest vaccination rate, accounted for the highest numbers.

Despite a gradual decline in hospitalizations, hospitals are constantly on alert as new cases are rising again. To date, 66.22% of adults have been vaccinated, including 487,083 with a booster.

Interior Minister Davor Božinović, who heads the COVID-19 crisis management team, called on citizens to maintain rational caution during the New Year's holidays.

He said the team had extended the current COVID protocols for another month. They refer to gatherings, crossing the border, wearing masks, shops' opening hours, public transport, and an entry ban for persons from many African countries.

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ZAGREB, 19 Dec, 2021 - Croatia has registered 1,936 new coronavirus cases and 51 COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team reported on Sunday.

Currently, there are 22,606 active cases in the country. Among them are 2,167 infected persons receiving hospital treatment and 269 of them are on ventilators.

A total of 22,622 people are self-isolating.

A total of 3,645,554 persons have been tested to date, including 6,973 in the last 24 hours.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first infection with the SARS CoV-2 virus was confirmed in the country, 675,363 people have been registered as having contracted the new virus, of whom 11,981 have died.

A total of 640,776 people have recovered, including 3,214 in the last 24 hours.

65.86% of adult population vaccinated

As of Saturday, 4,542,083 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered, with 55.25 per cent of the total population, or 65.86 per cent of the adult population, having been vaccinated.

A total of 2,242,262 people have received at least one dose and 2,088,816 of them have been fully vaccinated, which is 61.53 per cent of the adult population.

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ZAGREB, 18 Dec, 2021 - Croatia has registered 3,487 new coronavirus cases and 51 COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team reported on Saturday.

Currently, there are 23,935 active cases in the country. Among them are 2,154 infected persons receiving hospital treatment and 283 of them are on ventilators.

A total of 23,714 people are self-isolating.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first infection with the SARS CoV-2 virus was confirmed in the country, 673,427 people have been registered as having contracted the new virus, of whom 11,930 have died while 637,562 have recovered, including 3,432 in the last 24 hours.

A total of 3,638,581 persons have been tested to date, including 10,836 in the last 24 hours.

As of Friday, 4,519,310 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered, with 55.21 per cent of the total population, or 65.81 per cent of the adult population, having been vaccinated. A total of 2,240,403 people have received at least one dose and 2,082,035 of them have been fully vaccinated, which is 61.34 per cent of the adult population.

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ZAGREB, 16 Dec 2021 - EU leaders on Thursday underlined the importance of vaccination in the fight against COVID-19, including a booster shot given the worrying Omicron variant.

The vaccination of all and receiving a booster shot is crucial and urgently necessary, according to European Council conclusions on the pandemic.

EU heads of state or government said it is crucial to overcome the suspiciousness about vaccination and to fight vaccine disinformation.

As to travel restrictions, the European Council called for coordinated efforts to respond to the situation based on available scientific evidence, and for imposing travel restrictions based on objective criteria, without undermining the single market or disproportionately disrupting free movement within the EU.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković told the press COVID certificates facilitated free movement this past summer and that this helped Croatia to record 90% of the numbers logged in the record tourism year 2019.

EU leaders called for the updated travel recommendations within the EU that the Commission published last month to be updated as soon as possible.

The Commission recommended a person-based approach, i.e. that a person with a valid digital COVID certificate should not be subjected to additional restrictions such as testing or quarantine.

Persons without a certificate could be required to get tested before or upon arrival.

The Commission also recommended that the certificates be valid nine months after the last vaccination.

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ZAGREB, 16 Dec 2021 - In the last 24 hours, of 11,713 tests conducted for coronavirus in Croatia, 3,765 (32%) have turned out to be positive, and 46 more COVID patients have died, raising the death toll to 11,825, the country's COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Thursday.

Currently, there are 24,082 active cases of the infection in Croatia, with 2,253 of them in hospital, including 286 patients placed on ventilators.

Since the first registered case of the novel virus in Croatia on 25 February 2020, 666,162 people have been diagnosed with this infectious disease, and of them, 630,255 have recovered so far, including 3,346 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

During the vaccine rollout plan, 2,235,161 persons have been given at least a jab, and 60.85% of adults have fully been vaccinated.

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ZAGREB, 16 Dec 2021 - If Croatia does not prepare for the fifth wave of the coronavirus pandemic, the infectious disease is likely to claim several thousand more lives, academician Ivan Đikić, a Croatian scientist who works in Germany, said in a letter to PM Andrej Plenković and Health Minister Vili Beroš on Thursday.

Calling on the government to acquaint the public with its future strategy, Đikić expressed concern about the gravity of the situation and the danger of a fifth wave of the pandemic that could claim a large number of lives in Croatia.

Đikić said that he received on a daily basis queries from concerned citizens who wonder how they should behave in the current situation, who should get a booster dose, if the booster dose protects against the Omicron variant, which tests are safe, etc.

50 COVID-related deaths a day very high figure

It is a fact that Croatia is close to the top of the EU ranking in terms of the number of coronavirus deaths per million people during the fourth wave, and this sounds the alarm and calls for urgent preventive action, he said.

"Around 50 people die of COVID-19 in Croatia on a daily basis, which is a very high figure. If we do not prepare early enough for the fifth wave, we are set to lose several thousand more citizens during the fifth wave," he said, calling on the PM and the health minister to present accurate data and risks related to the Omicron variant and inform citizens about the government's future strategy.

Omicron dangerous variant, booster dose contributes to protection against it

Noting that the Omicron variant is a dangerous variant, two to three times more contagious than the Delta variant, Đikić called on Plenković and Beroš to ensure fast detection and monitoring of the Omicron variant, present a strategy to prevent the fifth wave of the pandemic, and encourage all citizens above 18 to get a booster dose.

Currently available data shows that additional vaccination has a significant positive effect and contributes to protection also against the Omicron variant, Đikić said, calling for launching a more serious vaccination campaign so as to achieve a significant level of collective protection and prevent excessive pressure on hospitals and fatalities.

He also said the Health Ministry should provide accurate and clear information on testing for coronavirus, describing as wrong messages that suggest citizens should get tested for cellular immunity as the best indicator of whether one should get a booster dose.

According to available data, a cellular immunity test based on which an official decision would be made on additional vaccination has not been approved anywhere in the world, he said, but added that there have been cases of citizens testing positive for cellular immunity and being advised not to get a booster dose after which they contracted the disease.

Đikić also called on the government not to allow profiteering related to coronavirus tests, warning that wrongly interpreted COVID tests can lead citizens to believe that they are protected even though they are not, thus causing the already complex epidemiological situation to worsen.

Warning of numerous cases of scientifically unfounded statements in the media, made by individual scientists, including members of the government's scientific council, "to which neither the Health Ministry nor the government had reacted timely", Đikić said that this caused unnecessary damage and undermined citizens' trust in state institutions.

"Respond competently, clearly, and timely to scientifically unfounded statements in the media," he said.

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ZAGREB, 15 Dec 2021 - Several dozens gathered in St. Mark's Square in Zagreb on Wednesday morning to rally against COVID vaccines and the draft amendments of the Contagious Diseases Act, which the Croatian parliament is supposed to adopt later in the day.

The protesters rallied outside the government and the parliament to express their opposition against the vaccines against coronavirus.

One of the protesters shouted that she had not got vaccinated against that COVID disease and that she would not allow the immunization of her child with that experimental vaccine.

She also told media outlets and reporters not to label them anti-vaxxers.

"We are not rabbits and we do not want an experimental vaccine. We are here to protest against that," the protester shouted and her message was applauded by other demonstrators.

One in the crowd accused media outlets of twisting their messages.

During the peaceful protest, some of the demonstrators held hands and started praying.

They also had posters with messages appealing to the president to request the constitutionality of the amended law.

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ZAGREB, 15 Dec 2021 - In the last 24 hours, the COVID disease has taken 57 lives in Croatia, raising the death toll to 11,779, and there have been 4,671 new cases of the infection, Croatia's authorities reported on Wednesday.

Currently, there are 23,709 infected people throughout Croatia, and of them 2,256 are receiving hospital treatment, including 306 placed on ventilators.

Since the first registered case of the infection with the novel virus in the country on 25 February 2020, 662,397 people have been diagnosed with this infectious disease, and of them, 626,909 have recovered, including 2,301 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

Under the vaccine rollout plan, 55.01% of the total population have tog vaccinated to date, and 60.58% of adults have fully been vaccinated.

8 omicron cases so far

So far, eight cases of the infection with the omicron variant of coronavirus have been confirmed in Croatia, and four have been in Zagreb and another four in Split, Health Minister Vili Beroš said on Wednesday.

Roughly 200 samples have been sent to the  European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) for sequencing, and we will soon get information whether there are more and more cases of the infection with the latest variant of the virus, Beroš said.

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ZAGREB, 13 Dec 2021 - A total of 48,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses arrived in Croatia on Monday for vaccination of children aged 5-11 and will be distributed to local public health institutions in the coming days.

"Children aged 5-11 will receive the vaccine in two doses, like adults, but the vaccine for children contains a third of the dose for adults," said the deputy director of the Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ), Ivana Pavić Šimetin.

Vaccination is recommended especially for immunocompromised children.

Local public health institutes will organize vaccination through pediatric clinics and schools and general medical practitioners.

About 6,400 children aged 12-14 (5.18%) and about 55,000 young people aged 15-19 have been vaccinated against COVID-19 to date.

The HZJZ says that vaccinated children do not need a booster dose, except those immunocompromised who are given an additional dose already a month after the first two doses.

The Pfizer vaccine has been approved for children aged 5-11.

Children infected with COVID-19 most often have mild clinical symptoms or have no symptoms at all. Serious cases that require hospitalization and intensive care are very rare.

No vaccine has been registered so far for children aged below 5, so children in that age group cannot be vaccinated.

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