Karel Karika: I've had my first jab, the vaccine is the way back to normal life

As of today in the Czech Republic more than 3.6 million people have received at least one dose of vaccine against COVID-19, according to authorities. One of those people is Karel Karika, vice-mayor of Ústí nad Labem municipality and chair of the Czechoslovak Romani Union (Československá romská unie). 

Karika says he believes it is exactly vaccination that will return us all to normal life. "Many people in our community believe they do not have to get the vaccine because they already have antibodies or contracted COVID-19 asymptomatically. However, it is necessary to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus as soon as possible, and vaccination can make a fundamental contribution to that," the politician told news server Romea.cz last week, adding that he has already received one dose of the Pfizer vaccine and will be receiving the second dose on 14 May. 

"Please do not succumb to all the haters or to the disinformation that this pandemic will resolve itself. The sooner we are all vaccinated, the faster we will all return to normal," Karika said.

The pandemic situation in the Czech Republic has been improving for several weeks now, and along with lower daily numbers of new cases of infection, the number of people hospitalized with the novel coronavirus is also declining. As of the morning of 9 May, the number of confirmed cases per 100 000 inhabitants during the last seven days was 102, down from 107 the day before, according to the website of the Czech Health Ministry. 

Vaccinations in the Czech Republic began at the close of 2020 and are meant to be the main way to improve the situation. As of the evening of 8 May, 1 056 926 people have been completely vaccinated against COVID-19 with two doses, while 3 628 177 doses total have been delivered. 

Among persons older than 70, who are in the group most at risk of severe illness or death if they contract the virus, there are still many to be vaccinated, according to previous statements by Czech Health Minister Petr Arenberg (for ANO), and almost two-thirds of those not yet vaccinated are actually registered with a GP. One out of six senior citizens aged 70 or older has not yet registered for vaccination at all.