President Iohannis, new call for vaccination: Dear Romanians, go and get vaccinated!

President Klaus Iohannis said on Friday that Romania has received actual support from eight European states in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and has made a new call for vaccination, showing that Romanians should not listen to those who "talk nonsense in public and on Facebook."

"At home, the situation is very, very complicated. I have talked about a tragedy, about a catastrophe in the field. Hospitals are crowded, doctors, medical staff are overwhelmed, they work non-stop, ICU beds are no longer available. We turned to the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and we have already received actual support from eight European countries, others have already declared their willingness to help us. It is an important thing and it shows, in our desperate situation, that European solidarity is not just an expression, but a fact. I thanked our partners and friends who help us and come up with places for intensive care, medicines, oxygen devices and so on and come to our aid. But we have to play our part. And here I repeat very clearly: there is no other solution than vaccination and we have to be serious and accept this once and for all," said the head of state before attending the European Council meeting, agerpres reports.

He made a new call for Romanians to go and get vaccinated.

"Please take a look at others in Western Europe. We are here in Brussels. In all the states of Western Europe, the pandemic has been abated by vaccination. There are vaccination rates of 80% - 90% and few people ended up in intensive care and in hospitals in recent weeks. Why can't we do that? Why do we have to listen to some who talk nonsense in public and on Facebook and convince you not to get vaccinated to end up in the hospital and intensive care? It is fundamentally wrong. The solution is clear, it is free, it is available, it is called vaccine. Dear Romanians, go and get vaccinated, don't end up in hospital, don't spread the disease on, let's end this pandemic! Until then, we have support from all sides, everybody is helping us, but let's be honest, no one can get vaccinated in our place, that's for us to do," Iohannis underlined.

President Klaus Iohannis is attending the European Council meeting in Brussels, which began on Thursday.