Shkoder is the net city where the COVID-19 vaccine inoculations began today, with the health professionals and older adults living in the elderly residential care homes in the north-western city receiving the vaccine first. Prime Minister Edi Rama and the Minister of Health Ogerta Manastirliu attended the start of the vaccination rollout at the local vaccination centre at the Shkodra Sports Hall and closely followed the process of administering the first doses to the doctors and nurses.

“Today we start the inoculations in Shkoder with the first 150 vaccine doses. The vaccination centre has been set up in advance and is ready to start the process. The procedure begins in accordance to the name lists. The process goes on in Tirana too and the vaccination drive will be accelerated. The vaccination centre in Vlora is scheduled to open on Thursday. This way, the vaccination process will be expanded to cover whole territory of the country. The novel coronavirus vaccination will provide relief to the country’s health care system, while doctors and nurses will be working under less pressure,” Health Minister said.

After Shkoder, Vlora will be the next city where the vaccination rollout is set to begin this week, while the process is expected to extend to other hospitals and health care centres across the country once the upcoming vaccine deliveries arrive in the coming weeks.

***

After administering the vaccines to the health workers, the older adults living in elderly care homes will also receive the vaccine against COVID-19, and the inoculation process will take place in the residences where they live. “All older adults living in private or public residential care homes will receive the vaccine,” Health Minister Manastirliu announced.

The residents and care staff have been isolated at the elderly residential care homes since the pandemic outbreak with the staff members replacing each other once a month according to strict safety guidelines drafted by the Ministry of Health, in order to prevent the spread of the infection among the elderly. “In addition to the bonuses granted to the doctors and nurses in the initial phase of the pandemic, we have also provided an incentive bonus to the care workers at the elderly homes for their sacrifice during the pandemic,” Manastirliu added.

Thanks to the careful staff commitment and adherence to protocol, no cases have been reported in nursing homes. The infrastructure of elderly care homes has also changed, to provide a decent service and meet their needs. “Conditions in nursing homes have changed radically. What is most important to us is that you are well. “Fortunately, no cases have been identified among the people living in elderly residential care homes, because the situation became disastrous in such centres in Europe,” Prime Minister said, expressing gratitude for “the tremendous sacrifice of the staff who have avoided it.”