ZAGREB, 25 July, 2021 - In the past 24 hours, 125 coronavirus cases and no COVID deaths have been registered in Croatia, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Sunday.

There are 1,009 active cases, including 137 hospitalised patients, 13 of whom are on ventilators, while 3,198 persons are self-isolating.

Croatia has registered 362,621 coronavirus cases to date, including 8,245 deaths and 353,367 recoveries, of which 129 in the past 24 hours.

To date, 2,248,466 persons have been tested for the virus, including 5,979 in the past 24 hours, and 39.9% of population, including 48% of adults, have been vaccinated, of whom 42.45% fully.

HZJZ: Over 3m vaccine doses given without fatal side effects

The Public Health Institute (HZJZ) said today that 3,005,376 vaccine doses had been applied to date and that 1,429,990 persons had been fully vaccinated.

HZJZ director Krunoslav Capak said the HALMED regulator had not received any reports of side effects with a fatal outcome confirmed to have been linked to vaccination. He added that 4,435 reports of suspected side effects had been received to date.

The highest vaccination rate with the first dose has been achieved in Zagreb - 46.1% of the entire population and 55.8% of adults.

Zagreb also accounts for the highest rate of completed vaccination - 40.4% of the city's population and 48.9% of its adult population.

For more on COVID-19 in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

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ZAGREB, 24 July, 2021 - In the past 24 hours, 191 coronavirus cases have been registered in Croatia, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Saturday.

The number of active cases is 1,013 and there are 121 hospitalised patients, including 15 on ventilators, while 3,194 persons are self-isolating.

To date, Croatia has registered 362,496 coronavirus cases and 8,245 deaths, while 353,238 persons have recovered from COVID, including 135 in the past 24 hours.

To date, 2,242,487 persons have been tested for the virus, including 6,118 in the past 24 hours.

To date, 2,997,335 vaccine doses have been administered, with 39.9% of the population vaccinated, including 47.9% of adults.

One dose has been administered to 1,617,306 persons, while 1,423,795 persons have been fully vaccinated - 1,380,029 who have received both doses and 43,766 who have received the one dose of the Janssen vaccine.

For more updates on COVID-19, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

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July 23, 2021 - The response by the Croatian Institute of Public Health on vaccinating Roma people arrived few hours after TCN published the first article on the subject. TCN, true to its words, will now publish the response as promised to our readers.

A recent TCN report about vaccinating Roma people people saw the Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ) send the answers that didn't make it out before the publishing of the article. They apologised, stating that it all might have come down to a mistake in communication, suggesting that their reply might have been originally sent to the wrong address (after sending, forwarding, and lots of e-mail addresses involved, one can understand that the answers could have been sent to the wrong email).

Either way, it's fantastic to receive some new info on the matter.

A quick reminder, Veljko Kajtazi, a member of the Croatian parliament, elected as a representative of the Roma community, told TCN that official research of the percentage of vaccinated Roma people hasn't been conducted, but added that he frequently goes ''to out into the field'' and can see that the situation isn't with vaccinating Roma people isn't good.

''If 45% of the Croatian population is vaccinated, I can say that Roma people are a very small percentage of that number,'' commented Kajtazi. He also recognised fake news as the cause of lowered interest in the vaccine.

''Last year, 80% of Roma people wanted to take the vaccine, but today, they're scared and believe in various conspiracy theories. People aren't informed, and social media spreads so much disinformation,'' stated Kajtazi. 

 © Cijepljenje / Vakcinacija

Ethnicity is not a criterion for vaccination

HZJZ responded that they also hadn't conducted any research about attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccines among the country's Roma people. They also haven't come up with any statistics for the percentage of vaccinated Roma people.

''During the vaccination process, no differences are made in regards to ethnicity as the vaccination plan doesn't see ethnicity as a criterion for who can take the vaccine and who can't. This is the same with Roma people and for any other ethnic minority,'' explained HZJZ. They added how they asked each of the county branches of the Public health Institute about vaccinating Roma people and the field information confirmed that vaccination is being carried out in accordance with the current vaccination plan.

''So far, there has been no analysis of the number of vaccinated people based on ethnicity at the state level, and local institutes don't keep a record of vaccinated people based on their ethnicity. This doesn't exclude the possibility of retrograde analysis in accordance with available data,'' pointed out HZJZ.

Regarding the isolation of Roma people, HZJZ said that local institutions arranged open points for the vaccination for all Croatian citizens, and they suggest that they had arrived at this point due to the partially inadequate organisation and a lack of financial conditions, not to mention a lack of human resources for vaccination in Roma villages.

However, the trouble of the isolation of Roma villages does seem to be something HZJZ recognises as a challenge in vaccine availability.

''With the goal of accomplishing a higher vaccination rate among the Roma community, we think an optimal solution would be to organise transport for the Roma community to the open vaccination points. But, that isn't in the domain of HZJZ, so we'd like to invite institutions that can help in organising transport to contact their nearest Institute for Public Health. Simply put, these institutes will organise vaccination wherever necessary, but to organise for citizens to come to the vaccination location by some special conditions, the organisational assistance of other contributors is needed,'' they concluded from HZJZ.

With Kajtazi previously stating for TCN that he is regularly in contact with the authorities when it comes to ensuring vaccines, as well as for real scientific information on their safety and efficiency, the organisational issues of transport to the vaccination points could be resolved.

Roma Representative in Croatian Parliament, Veljko Kajtazi, visiting Roma people in Varaždin © Savez Roma u RH "KALI SARA"

With increasing numbers of new cases of infection being noted, the situation may not be as dramatic for the moment but could escalate quickly if Croats fail to recognise the importance of vaccination, not just because of the risk of ending the tourist season early but also due to the potential of another heavy blow to the Croatian healthcare system.

At the time of writing this article, the latest report noted 179 new cases, one death, and 98 recoveries. Additionally, health officials had administered nearly three million vaccine doses. Thus, 1.604 million people have received at least one dose of vaccine against COVID-19, and 1,401,029 have fully been vaccinated (1,360,822 have been double-jabbed plus 40,207 who have received the single-dose Jannsen vaccine), and this makes up 41.614% of the Croatian adult population.

Learn more about travelling to Croatia during the COVID-19 pandemic on our TC page.

For more about COVID-19 in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 22 July, 2021 - In the last 24 hours, of 3,929  tests performed for coronavirus, 4.5%, that is 179, have turned out to be positive, Croatia's national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Thursday.

Currently, there are 918 active cases, of whom 124 are hospitalised patients, including 14 placed on ventilators. Also, 3,186 people are self-isolating.

In the last 24 hours, there has been one more COVID-related death, bringing the death toll to 8,245.

Since the first registered case of the infection with this novel virus in Croatia on 25 February 2020, as many as 2.231 million persons have been tested and 362,129 people have caught the virus. Of them, 352,966 have recovered to date, including 98 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

Vaccine roll-out developments

Croatia has to date administered nearly three million vaccine doses. Thus, 1.604 million people have received at least one dose of vaccines against COVID-19 and 1,401,029 have fully been vaccinated (1,360,822 have been double-jabbed plus 40,207 who have received the single-dose Jannsen vaccine), and this makes up 41.614% of the adult population.

For more on COVID-19, follow TCN's dedicated page.

For more about Croatia, CLICK HERE.

July 22, 2021 - With the overall struggle to get Croatians to take the coronavirus vaccine, it is often overlooked regarding Roma people COVID-19 vaccination in Croatia.

Despite coronavirus infections being low at the moment, the situation is tense. On July 5, as TCN reported, only 35% of the Croatian population was vaccinated as the Delta strain spreads globally and in the country.

"Unfortunately, we aren't satisfied with the percentage of vaccinated people we hoped to have. We all wanted to vaccinate more than 50 percent of the total Croatian population during June, but sadly our numbers in that regard are much lower. Only about 35 percent of the total Croatian population has been vaccinated, which isn't enough for them to be calm and to be able to live according to the old normal,'' said epidemiologist Dijana Mayer back then. This was punished with the Croatian coast no longer being in the green, and without bigger vaccination interest, things can turn red. As TCN wrote, there are 5-6 Positive Cases at Split Airport every day, and new measures are introduced to British tourists as the Delta strain is booming there (but in a less fatal manner because of vaccines). Stricter measures, in general, can be excepted by the end of the month in Croatia too.

Fortunately, things got better in July. As reported on Wednesday, „Croatia administered nearly three million vaccine doses. Thus, 1.6 million people have received at least one dose of vaccines against COVID-19, and 1,388,674 have fully been vaccinated (1,349,652 have been double-jabbed plus 39,022 who have received a single-dose Jannsen vaccine), and this makes up 41.24% of the adult population“.

But, disinformation about COVID-19 vaccines is vividly spread (just as disinformation about COVID-19), leaving Croatian fact-checking site Faktograf knee-deep in debunking work. Many Croatians sadly believe the fake news of the anti-vaxxers, and the situation culminated to the point where the Croatian officials (as officials in many other EU countries that also struggle with anti-vax propaganda) seriously discuss obligatory vaccination. Will it happen? Some politicians are up for it, others no, but overall, the situation is uncertain as the fourth infection wave approaches, and the season could potentially be in jeopardy in mid-August, as 24 Sata writes.

COVID-19 vaccine © Pixabay

In summary, there are currently more vaccines in Croatia than there are people interested in. It's hard to believe how things progressed from the start of the year when we witnessed a delay in vaccine shipments, outrage by the public when people such as Zagreb University Rector Damir Boras received the vaccine ahead of time and schedule. From the malfunctioning Cijepi se (Vaccinate yourself) website where you had to register for an appointment (which took forever to get) to a family doctor being able to sign you up, all the way to be able to take a shot without an appointment today, vaccines truly became accessible for everyone. There were even buses bringing vaccines and performing vaccinations in remote villages. So vaccines are for everyone to take, but is it really so?

Nothing in the world is perfect, and neither is Croatia. From time to time, we can see that some groups in Croatian society do get discriminated against or suffer negative stereotypes. For example, with significant progress in accepting the LGBTQ community, sadly homophobic attacks still happen. The tensions with the Serbian minority vary from the day-to-day political agenda, but it is safe to say no one has it worse than the Roma people in Croatia.

As TCN previously wrote, following the 2020 report by Human Rights House in Zagreb, Roma people in Croatia are still facing many obstacles in achieving their rights, which include employment, access to services, and adequate living standards, and there is still segregation in the education system too. Either perceived as thieves, criminals, beggars or completely ignored in Croatia, the question of how many Roma people in Croatia received the vaccine and how many Roma people want the vaccine in the first place, can't be left aside, as it shows how much the vaccine rollout truly is fair for every citizen in the country.

Disinformation crippled 80% of those willing to get the vaccine

Veljko Kajtazi, a member of the Croatian parliament, elected as a representative of the Roma community, says that official research of percentage of vaccinated Roma people hasn't been conducted, but he frequently goes „to the field“, and sees that the situation isn't good.

„If 45% of the Croatian population is vaccinated, I can say that Roma people are a very small percentage of that number“, commented Kajtazi, then on a relevant number of vaccinated people.

He supports the talk of obligatory vaccines and finds disinformation and fake news regarding vaccines to be the cause of low interest.

Veljko Kajtazi, screenshot / Hrvatska radiotelevizija

„Roma people have a very social culture, love gatherings, and live in big families. When the pandemic started, I cooperated with authorities in ensuring that social distancing measures are respected in Roma settlements and that we educate people on the dangers of coronavirus“, recalled Kajtazi.

While Roma people can be found living anywhere, the majority is often ghettoized. An example is in Zagreb, where the Kozari Bok neighborhood on the east side of the city is famous for its big Roma population. When looking outside of the capital city, there are many Roma villages and settlements which count more people than other Croatian villages.

One such place is Piškorovec in Međimurje, which the Lupiga news site referred to as „the biggest Croatian ghetto“. Their article detailed both living in Piškorovec and tensions with the nearby town of Čakovec underlining incidents and division between Roma and Croatians (as Roma People are often perceived as thieves or beggars).

„Last year 80% of Roma people wanted to take the vaccine, but today, they are scared and believe various conspiracy theories. People are not informed, and social networks spread so much disinformation“, Kajtazi pictured how wishing for a vaccine turned sideways.

In the end, he added that he is regularly in contact with the government and institutions to provide information on vaccines to the community. Katja also hopes the vaccine buses will come to Roma villages too.

Questions for HZJZ

The lack of information, geographical isolation, and the overall achievement of social rights (such as health insurance) like other Croatian citizens that the Human Rights House in Zagreb expressed in their report left a lot of open questions regarding Roma people vaccination. Particularly, are there any statistics on how many people vaccinated that the health officials might have, what is the mood towards vaccines in Roma communities in their view, and can buses come to isolated areas to vaccinate Roma people? The inquiry was sent to the Health Ministry and to the Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ). Health Ministry very quickly forwarded the inquiry to the Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ) as these questions are part of their domain. The health ministry even forwarded the questions directly to the HZJZ headmaster Krunoslav Capak himself and other close associates on e-mail addresses not visible on the HZJZ website. But, HZJZ hasn't responded yet. Whether I tried to remind them and ask when can they answer via e-mail or phone calls, none left a response (although a phone call with HZJZ PR service confirmed there are experts in HZJZ that deal with the health of vulnerable social groups, which includes Roma People).

When the answer that can be expected for the moment remains unknown, but TCN will publish HZJZ's response when we receive it.

In the meantime, as we can see, despite vaccine skepticism being strong, there is nevertheless a slow but steady daily rise of vaccinated people in Croatia. 

Let's hope for the sake of public health that disinformation and fake news that turn people away from the vaccines will lower its influence on all the cultural groups and identities you can find in Croatia.

Editor's note: HZJZ response

Learn more about travelling to Croatia during the COVID-19 pandemic on our TC page.

For more about COVID-19 in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 21 July, 2021 - In the last 24 hours, of 4,205  tests performed for coronavirus, 4.5%, that is 191 have turned out to be positive, Croatia's national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Wednesday.

Currently, there are 838 active cases, of whom 122 are hospitalised patients including 13 placed on ventilators. Also, 3,409 people are self-isolating.

In the last 24 hours, there has been one more COVID-related death, bringing the death toll to 8,244.

Since the first registered case of the infection with this novel virus in Croatia on 25 February 2020, as many as 2.2 million tests have been conducted, showing that 361,950 people have caught the virus. Of them, 352,868 have recovered to date, including 91 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

Vaccine roll-out developments

Croatia has to date administered nearly three million vaccine doses. Thus, 1.6 million people have received at least one dose of vaccines against COVID-19, and 1,388,674 have fully been vaccinated (1,349,652 have been double-jabbed plus 39,022 who have received a single-dose Jannsen vaccine), and this makes up 41.24% of the adult population.

For more about COVID-19 in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 20 July, 2021 - In the past 24 hours, 146 coronavirus cases and three deaths have been registered in Croatia, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Monday.

There are 739 active cases, including 121 hospitalised patients, 11 of whom are on ventilators, while 3,573 persons are self-isolating.

To date, Croatia has registered 361,759 coronavirus cases, including 8,243 deaths and 325,777 recoveries, 89 of which in the past 24 hours.

To date, Croatia has tested 2,223,324 persons for the virus, including 4,612 in the past 24 hours.

Also, 2,930,768 vaccines have been administered and 39.3% of the population has been vaccinated, including 47.2% of the adult population.

For more about COVID-19 in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 19 July 2021 - Croatia has registered 18 new coronavirus cases and two COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus crisis management team said on Monday.

The number of active cases in the country currently stands at 685. Among them are 125 people who are receiving hospital treatment and 14 of them are on ventilators.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case was confirmed in Croatia, a total of 361,613 people have been registered as having contracted the novel virus, of whom 8,240 have died and 352,688 have recovered, including 75 in the last 24 hours. Currently, 4,029 people are in self-isolation.

To date, 2,218,712 people have been tested for COVID-19, including 1,543 in the last 24 hours.

By 18 July, 2,917,001 vaccine doses had been administered, with 39.2 percent of the total population or 47.1 percent of the adult population having been vaccinated.  A total of 1,589,579 people have received at least one dose, of whom 1,364,798 have been fully inoculated (1,327,422 have been vaccinated with both doses and 37,376 have received the single-dose Jannsen vaccine), which makes up 40.54 percent of the adult population.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, including travel, border, and quarantine rules, as well as the locations of vaccination points and testing centers across the country, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.

ZAGREB, 18 July, 2021 - In the last 24 hours, out of 3,469 tests performed for coronavirus, 107, that is 3.0%, have returned positive, Croatia's national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Sunday.

There are now 744 active cases, and of them 121 are hospitalised patients, including 12 placed on ventilators.

The COVID-related death toll has increased by two to 8,238 in the last 24 hours.

Since the first registered case of the infection with this novel virus in Croatia on 25 February 2020, more than 2,217,000 tests have been conducted showing that 361,595 people have caught the virus, and of them 352,613 have recovered to date, including 84 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

Vaccine rollout: Over 2.9 million COVID vaccine doses administered to date

To date, 2,915,530 million vaccines against this infection have been administered, and 47.1% of the adult population has been inoculated.

Until 17 July, 1,588,753 persons were vaccinated, and of them 1,363,876 were fully vaccinated (1,326,777 people were double-jabbed plus 37,099 who received the single-dose Jannsen vaccine). Thus, 40.52% of the adult citizens have fully been vaccinated.

For more on COVID-19 in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

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ZAGREB, 17 July 2021 - In the last 24 hours, out of 3,834 tests performed for coronavirus, 139, that is 3.6%, have returned positive, Croatia's national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Saturday.

There are now 723 active cases, and 112 of them are hospitalized patients, including 12 placed on ventilators.

The COVID-related death toll has increased by two to 8,236 in the last 24 hours.

Since the first registered case of the infection with this novel virus in Croatia on 25 February 2020, more than 2.2 million tests have been conducted, showing that 361,488 have caught the virus, and of them, 352,529 have recovered to date, including 99 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

Vaccine rollout: Two in five adults fully vaccinated

To date, more than 2.9 million vaccines against this infection have been administered, and 47% of the adult population have been inoculated.

Until 16 July, 1,584,407 were vaccinated, and 1,357,261 of them were fully vaccinated (1,321,943 people were double-jabbed plus 35,318 who received the single-dose Jannsen vaccine).  Thus every two in five Croatians (40.32%) have fully been vaccinated.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, including travel, border, and quarantine rules, as well as the locations of vaccination points and testing centers across the country, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.