February the 13th, 2022 - Goran Tesovic, an infectious disease specialist at the Dr. Fran Mihaljevic Clinic for Infectious Diseases in Zagreb told N1 that he doubted that any new vaccination strategy would help those who have already made their choices, for whatever reason.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Dr. Goran Tesovic said that he doesn't know what the strategy will be. He says he has now been claiming for a long time that whoever wanted to be vaccinated, has already been vaccinated, and that there are a lot of anti-vaxxers around.

“How much we medical professionals, or some of us, have contributed to that is hard to say, but we probably have. The media has played a role, and the basis of everything is that people's decisions about vaccination have shown that at least 30 percent of people are either anti-vaxxers or are suspicious about coronavirus vaccines. With a well-developed strategy, proper promotional measures, and consistent behaviour by healthcare authorities, perhaps someone who is hesitant would be persuaded to get vaccinated. You won't succeed with those who have a clearly defined attitude, no strategy can help an anti-vaxxer. 30 percent of people in this country have this anti-vaxx attitude even when it comes to mandatory vaccines in Croatia, and the coronavirus vaccine isn't mandatory, so it's only logical that this percentage will increase,'' he said.

Asked what could have been done in the beginning of the vaccine rollout, or what we missed, he said: "I'm not saying that much more could have been done because it is clear that there was a strong anti-vaxx mood from the very beginning, look at Bulgaria, Romania and other Eastern European countries. I think that this is, for the most part, a reflection of the overall situation in society and the lack of trust in the authorities. Whatever strategy may turn out to be wrong in the end, I'm afraid that there's no right advice,'' said Goran Tesovic.

He also spoke about compulsory vaccination in Croatia: “I think making vaccination mandatory wouldn't significantly solve this problem. Perhaps one could try to be more active towards older groups and emphasise how devastating this disease can be for these people more. Unfortunately, some of these people were initially afraid of the vaccine's side effects, which are exaggerated, and no one told them that if they get covid with their comorbidities, they're more likely to develop a severe clinical picture. I don’t think the introduction of compulsory vaccination would change much, it might encourage further incitement of the anti-vaxx atmosphere too. If introduced, it couldn't be for the entire population, and then the question arises as to whether it's mandatory vaccination at all in such a case. I'd stick to what's recommended and insisting that the elderly and those with comorbidities be vaccinated.''

Finally, he commented on the emergence of the Omicron variant: “I'm not in favour of removing the rule about masks, at least until we see what will happen when Omicron subsides completely. Covid certificates probably no longer make any sense given the variant that has unfolded in this way. This isn't a virus that will naturally provide immunity to us. The fact that most people get over Omicron without many issues doesn't mean that they're immune and can't be reinfected with another new variant,'' Goran Tesovic concluded.

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February the 12th, 2022 - There is a new Croatian vaccination strategy on the cards according to Croatian Public Health Institute director Krunoslav Capak - going from door to door.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Health Minister Vili Beros stated that they had first looked at the number of newly infected people, however, that number is no longer so important, especially with the arrival of the Omicron variant. Then they looked at the number of hospitalised people. Given the impact of Omicron, which doesn't cause so many initial respiratory problems, but can still put the elderly who are unvaccinated and who have comorbidities in hospital, the most important thing for him personally is how many people are in intensive care. He said that the infection rate is no longer really as important as the number of people in hospital beds.

''As of January the 10th, when Croatia started using the new methodology of counting deaths, we've had 1,529 of our fellow citizens who have died, for 1,107 of those people, we can say that they did die from covid, and for 422 others, we can say that they died with covid,'' the minister said.

''We've had several important meetings at the Ministry of Health, first about the waiting list for oncology patients, everything that this pandemic has brought us, and especially what will happen when it ends. Then all the problems, and especially the epidemic of oncological problems and mental health issues that will follow, we must prepare for that. Another important meeting was to look at the current situation with the epidemic in the context of vaccination,'' Beros said.

A new Croatian vaccination strategy

He added that the CNIPH had expressed its views, which were supported by others. Then the head of the CNIPH explained what those views regarding vaccination were about.

“Since we've reached one plateau of vaccination, it is now very difficult to move towards larger numbers and coverage. The last time we had a wave was in November where people were more interested in getting their first doses, but now we've come to a situation where the numbers are very small for the first doses (primary vaccination) and booster doses and we're now talking about what we could do to improve this shift towards greater vaccination coverage of the population,'' said Capak, H1 reports.

They identified certain weak points and made suggestions for resolving them with a new Croatian vaccination strategy.

"What is very important to say is that we've changed our plans in parallel with how we implemented vaccination so far and there is nothing here that we didn't already mention in that plan, but we're now basing it on some weak points of our implementation that we would like to improve," explained Capak.

When people claim they don't want to be vaccinated, those who aren't simple anti-vaxxers say things like that they have fears about an 'insufficiently tested vaccine' and secondly, the fear of the side effects. That’s why we’ve opened counseling centres, where people can consult a doctor about their fears,'' Capak said.

In addition to that, the availability of vaccines has been being worked on, so Capak explained that there are now mobile teams that would go around the houses and vaccinate people who could not go to the vaccination point to receive their dose for whatever reason. "We've done a lot when it comes to the availability of vaccines, but now we have decided to strengthen our mobile teams, so that anyone who cannot come for vaccination for any reason, can just get vaccinated at home," he said.

"We'll also stimulate drive-in vaccination, we will strengthen that part and make sure people know they don't even have to get out of their cars," said Capak.

"For those chronically ill patients who come to hospitals, we'll ask hospitals to ask them if they have been vaccinated and to vaccinate them in hospitals where there are facilities to ensure that," added the head of the CNIPH when discussing this new Croatian vaccination strategy.

“We also have the experience that where settlements are scattered, in more rural areas, vaccination coverage is lower. We'll talk to our colleagues in the field to enable either a bus or a van, these mobile teams to get to a local post office or school, so that all those who cannot get to the county centres can get vaccinated there,'' said Capak.

When asked what numbers people think they can come up with with a new Croatian vaccination strategy, Capak said he wouldn't like to try to predict. "We'll certainly not achieve the 90 percent figure that Norway and other developed countries have, but we hope to succeed with between 70 and 80 percent," Capak said.

Responding to the comments of many experts, who believe that the number of vaccinated people living in Croatia will not increase, Capak said that they at the CNIPH do not share this view and that is why they are adopting this new Croatian vaccination strategy.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated section and select your preferred language if it isn't English.

February the 5th, 2022 - Could the continuing low Croatian vaccination rate against the novel coronavirus have a negative effect on this summer's tourist season? As would-be visitors keep their eyes on what's going on in relation to the pandemic in a particular desired holiday destination, some believe so.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Council for the Recovery and Development of Tourism, which brings together representatives of the most important segments of this most important Croatian industry, has warns that Croatia is so far behind its typical Mediterranean competition in terms of vaccination that it could be well and truly beaten this summer having made a rod for its own back.

The new Croatian vaccination rate (an updated version of the situation) will be published on the new ECDC maps, not only the number of people infected with covid at any given time. It's worth noting that Croatia is currently a worrying dark red colour and is likely to stay that way until further notice, writes N1.

There are still tourists in Croatia and planning to come to Croatia, despite the situation caused by Omicron which is causing high numbers in terms of infection rates almost everywhere. In Opatija in Kvarner, they have claimed that they haven't had such a good January since the beginning of the century, and they are also busy arranging things for the summer months.

"Well, last year's results were certainly at a high level, which is fantastic. Of course, the situation will not be the same this year. We hope that the situation with the epidemic will calm down, so we're expecting some better results,'' pointed out Van Sarajlic, a local hotel manager.

It all depends on the virus, and our response to it.

"Foreign guests are monitoring the situation in the country. We constantly inform them about the situation, we work intensively with the tourism industry to keep hold of the stay safe in Croatia label, and hygiene and all other measures in our facilities are at the highest level because guests follow what's going on here, they know. That's why they came to us last year, so we have to attract them again this year,'' said Rena Persic Zivadinov, the director of the Kvarner Tourist Board.

That is why the High Council for the Recovery and Development of Tourism is sitting in the City of Zagreb. While Kvarner is an example with 75 percent of their resident adult population fully vaccinated, the rest of the country lags far behind.

That is why the Minister of Tourism and Sport, Nikolina Brnjac, has duly warned:

"We all know that Croatia's competing countries are making a come back. We also showed a presentation of the vaccination coverage across the Mediterranean, and it is much higher than it is in Croatia. Last year, we launched the priority vaccination of employees workin in the tourism sector which had an extremely good response, over 70 percent of employees came and got vaccinated. And this time, I'm calling on the entire tourism sector to remain responsible.''

The sector is generally concerned about the low Croatian vaccination rate, as everyone is doing better than Croatia is, across the rest of the Mediterranean, but also in the emitting markets, including the United States.

"I'm afraid that everything we did last year and all of the effort we put in will end up being worth next to nothing, I'm afraid that this year, with this situation we're in today, we're once again at point zero from which we have to start building everything back up from scratch,'' said the president of the Association of Hoteliers at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, Josipa Jutt Ferlan.

Tomislav Fain, President of the Association of Croatian Travel Agencies, also noted:

"We all know what will happen to Croatian tourism if by any chance we remain dark red or red. If the German Government or the Austrian Hovernment only gives a suggestion to its citizens not to travel to such destinations, it would significantly affect our tourism, it would significantly affect the numbers we get, and the financial structure of everything.''

For more, check out our travel section.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated section and select your preferred language if it isn't English.

December the 14th, 2021 - The Croatian Institute of Public Health (CNIPH) has published an interactive map of the Croatian vaccination rate, which we wrote about not long ago. It has now been updated with the latest vaccination data from across the country.

As Russian tourists fly into the country on special flights solely to get vaccinated with a vaccine that is recognised by the European Union (EU) and most likely to get their hands on the much desired EU covid certificate, the situation with the domicile population hasn't really been all that impressive when it comes to vaccination. Mass vaccination points have been set up in many locations nationwide, but some are still lagging.

The new rules surrounding Croatian covid certificates, the arrival of the Omicron variant and Croatia's recently high infection and death rate appears, however, to have pushed more to get vaccinated.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Croatian Institute of Public Health has published an updated version of the interactive Croatian vaccination rate map for the country's cities, municipalities and counties. Municipalities with a lower percentage of vaccinated residents are marked in the dark red shades.

The lighter shades of orange and yellow are those that have a slightly higher vaccination rate, and now most of the country's municipalities are in this group.

The bold orange colour represents a vaccination rate of 30 to 39 percent and a slightly lighter shade of orange represents a Croatian vaccination rate of 40 to 49 percent.

The yellow colour marks out the locations in which 50 to 59 percent of the population is vaccinated.

You can see view the updated version of the interactive Croatian vaccination rate map by clicking here.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, including testing centre and vaccination point locations, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language if it isn't English.

ZAGREB, 5 Dec, 2021 - Croatia has registered 2,796 new coronavirus cases and 68 COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus crisis management team reported on Sunday.

Currently, there are 29,478 active cases in the country. Among them are 2,381 people being treated for COVID-19 in hospitals, including 310 who are on ventilators. A total of 25,841 people are self-isolating.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case was confirmed in Croatia, 631,037 people have been registered as having contracted the SARS-CoV-2 virus, of whom 11,218 have died and 590,341 have recovered, including 4,598 in the last 24 hours.

To date, 3,509,545 people have been tested for the new virus, including 8,277 in the last 24 hours.

As of 4 December, 4,245,741 vaccine doses have been administered, with 54.38 per cent of the total population, or 64.87 per cent of the adult population, having been vaccinated. A total of 2,206,995 persons have received at least one dose and 1,979,003 of them have been fully vaccinated, which is 58.40 per cent of the adult population.

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December 5, 2021 - The Croatian Institute of Public Health has published an interactive Croatian vaccination map concerning the total population of Croatia according to the place of residence.

Dark red shades are parts of Croatia with a lower percentage of vaccination (up to 19%). In comparison, parts with slightly higher vaccination are marked shades of orange and light orange (up to 29 and 39%), followed by yellow and light yellow (up to 49 and 59%), reports Jutarnji List.

Thus, the map shows that the coastal part of Croatia is less vaccinated than the continental areas. Among the counties, Varaždin is the most vaccinated (47.33% vaccinated with the second dose), and Split-Dalmatia is the least vaccinated (33% with the second dose). 

The map also shows the vaccination rate of municipalities.

Only the municipality of Sali in Zadar County is green on the map of those vaccinated with the second dose, which means that it has vaccinated over 60% of the population, in their case, 65.47% of people.

The weakest vaccination rates are in Vrhovine in Lika (17.92%), in Bjelovar-Bilogora County - in Zrinski Topolovac (18.47%), and Đulovac (19.03%) as well as in Split-Dalmatia County in Dicmo (19.15%), and Otok (18.67%).

As for the four largest cities, the best is Rijeka (47.85 %) and Osijek (47.65%). Zagreb is at 44.59% and Split at 35.5%.

You can see the map HERE.

On Saturday, December 4, 4,465 cases were reported positive, whereas another 54 COVID patients died, bringing the COVID-related death toll to 11,150. In addition, 11,717 coronavirus tests were conducted.

There are 31,348 active cases in Croatia 2,382 are receiving hospital treatment, including 317 patients on ventilators.

Since the first registered case of infection on February 25, 2020, 628,241 people have been infected, and 585,743 of them have recovered, including 4,712 on Saturday. 

Over 4.2 million vaccine doses against coronavirus have been administered in Croatia. So far, 54.29% of the total population have got at least a jab or nearly 65% of adults.

Furthermore, 58.13% of adults have been fully vaccinated.

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ZAGREB, 4 Dec, 2021 - In the last 24 hours, 11,717 coronavirus tests have been conducted in Croatia and of them, 38% (4,465) have returned positive, whereas another 54 COVID patients have died, bringing the COVID-related death toll to 11,150, the national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Saturday.

Currently, there are 31,348 active cases, and of them 2,382 are receiving hospital treatment, including 317 patients on ventilators.

Since the first registered case of infection with the novel virus in Croatia on 25 February 2020, 628,241 persons have caught the virus and 585,743 of them have recovered from the infection, including 4,712 in the last 24 hours.

During the vaccine rollout, over 4.2 million doses against coronavirus have been administered. So far, 54.29 % of the total population have got at least a jab, or nearly 65% of adults.

Furthermore, 58.13% of adults have been fully vaccinated.

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

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ZAGREB, 21 Nov, 2021 - In the last 24 hours, of 11,125 tests performed for coronavirus, 38% of them (4,262) have turned out to be positive, and 60 more COVID patients have died, raising the death toll to 10,303, Croatia's COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Sunday. 

There are now 33,708 active cases, and of them 2,568 are receiving hospital treatment. As many as 323 patients are on ventilators.

Since the first registered case of the infection with the novel virus in Croatia on 25 February 2020, over 3.35 million tests have been conducted showing that 570,380 people have contracted the virus. Of them, 526,369 have so far recovered, including 5,376 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

 62.5% of adult Croatians get vaccinated

More than 3.98 million vaccine doses have been administered under the vaccination rollout plan in Croatia where 52.32% of the total population or 62.47% of the adults have been given at least a shot.

As many as 56% of the adults have fully been vaccinated to date.

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ZAGREB, 20 Nov, 2021 -  In the past 24 hours Croatia has registered 65 COVID-19-related deaths and 5,614 new infections, the national COVID-19 response team said on Saturday.

There are currently 34,882 active cases of the infection. A total of 2,542 COVID patients are hospitalised and 320 of them are on ventilators. As many as 27,969 people are in self-isolation.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic in February 2020, there have been 566,118 registered cases of the contagion and 10,243 people have died.

A total of 520,993 people have recovered, including 5,640 in the past 24 hours.

To date, 3,339,432 people have been tested for COVID-19, including 12,823 in the last 24 hours.

52.04% of total population vaccinated

As of Friday, November 19, a total of 3,963,116 doses of vaccine have been administered, with 52.04 per cent of the total population, or 62.14 per cent of the adult population, having been vaccinated.

As of Friday, 2,111,804 people have received at least one dose and 1,889,974 have been fully immunised, which is 55.85 per cent of the adult population.

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ZAGREB, 14 Nov, 2021 - The Homeland Movement said on Sunday it supported protests against "attempts to forcibly introduce vaccination and blackmail via so-called COVID certificates," adding that many of its members have joined in the protests and will not agree to segregation and first- and second-class citizens.

The opposition party said that under the Council of Europe's Resolution 2361, vaccination is not mandatory and no one must be discriminated against for not getting vaccinated.

It is hypocritical and politically rotten to hear the national COVID-19 crisis management team and the prime minister claim that there is no coercion against unvaccinated citizens or those who refuse to get tested, while on the other hand they are being fired because of "so-called" COVID certificates and prevented from exercising their right to work, access state institutions, free movement and many other human and civil rights, the party said.

Every citizen should have the right to choose whether to get vaccinated, the party said, adding that it would do everything at its disposal to prevent mandatory vaccination.

The Homeland Movement said it welcomed the Croatian Bishops Conference's objection to forced vaccination.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković's policy of stability culminated in his statement that mass vaccination is important also for raising Croatia's credit rating, the party said.

Correlating the credit rating and people's health is a continuation of the policy of ridiculing common sense, whose victims are all Croatian citizens, whether they have been vaccinated or not, it added.

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