– It is merciless, says nurse Claudiu Ionita CNN.
He is standing by a coffin in the morgue of Bucharest University Hospital in Romania, where he works.
High corona death rates mean that capacity has been blown. The morgue has room to take 15 coffins, but in one day in November, 41 patients died. The coffins that do not fit will be left in the hallway, writes CNN.
– When I started in this job, I never thought I would experience something like this, says Ionita, and describes the situation as a disaster.
So far in the pandemic, 1.7 million Romanians have been diagnosed with the virus. The death toll has exceeded 54,000, figures show Johns Hopkins University. Still, very few choose to get vaccinated.
– FULL HOSPITALS: An employee at the University Emergency Hospital in Buchares in a full room for people with Covid-19 infection, October 22 this year. (AP Photo / Vadim Ghirda)
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Low vaccination rates
Romania has Europe’s lowest vaccination rate. Below 38 percent of the population is fully vaccinated.
Healthcare professionals believe it is distrust of the authorities, deep religiosity and a sea of misinformation that is spreading on social media leading to the low numbers.
– We are many doctors who try to tell people that this disease is actually real, says Dr. Alexandra Munteanu.
She works at a vaccination center in Bucharest and is confused that the seriousness does not seem to have subsided for so many.
Great skepticism
– If you love your children, stop the vaccinations, says one of Romania’s most high-profile vaccine opponents in a video clip.
– DEMONSTRATION: Protesters hold a banner that says No to vaccination – Our children are not guinea pigs during a protest against vaccination and corona pass in Burcharest. (AP Photo / Vadim Ghirda)
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Diana Sosoaca is a member of the Romanian Senate and has in several public stunts tried to prevent people from taking the vaccine. Among other things, she has stood outside a vaccine center and tried to block the way for people to enter and get the vaccine.
“Some people do not believe in the vaccines,” a Romanian lady told CNN.
Few vaccinations in the village
Nowhere else in Romania is the skepticism about vaccines greater than in the village. In rural areas, the vaccination rate is around half of what it is in more urban areas. The numbers are lowest in Sucevea, a region north-east of Bucharest.
The doctor at one of the hospitals in the region says that many in the area are religious and that more people are encouraged not to take the vaccine. According to him, several patients at the hospital have said that their priest or pastor has advised them against getting vaccinated.
Pastor Neculai Miron, who is also the mayor of a village near Sucevea, says he is not against vaccines, but that they are worried about the side effects.
– We do not believe that the vaccine components are very safe. It is not a safe vaccine, he tells CNN.
– Life and death
Healthcare professionals and government employees find it annoying that some government officials go to great lengths to undermine their efforts in the fight against the virus.
– Our intensive care units are full of patients. We have many new cases and unfortunately hundreds of deaths every day. So this is the reality, says Dr. Valeriu Gheorghita, who runs the national vaccination campaign.
According to him, 90 percent of the patients who have died are unvaccinated.
– The vaccine makes the difference between life and death. People should understand that, says nurse Ilonita.
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