Czech Republic Vaccinates 1.3% of Population Against Coronavirus

On Tuesday, January 19, the British coronavirus mutation was confirmed in samples from Prague, Central Bohemia, and Hradec Kralove regions, said Helena Jirincova, head of the reference laboratory for influenza of the National Institute of Public Health (SZU).

The laboratory checked 12 samples from infected patients which seemed to contain the mutation, and the mutation was confirmed in ten of them.

Vaccination in the Czech Republic is “voluntary and free” and it is planned for over 5.5 million people or 60-70% of the total Czech population of 10.7 million (according to June 2020 data from the Czech Statistical Office).

The dates of vaccination will be distributed automatically – priority will be given to people with chronic diseases (for example, diabetes, obesity, lung or kidney disease).

According to the forecast of the Ministry of Health, vaccination of the general public should begin in May 2021.

Latest statistics

The health ministry recorded 9,558 new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, down from 10,800 a week earlier. In total, 909,131 infections have been recorded since March. Hospitalizations stand at 6,608 and officials have sought to cut the number by more than half.

The number of deaths related to COVID-19 rose by 174 on Tuesday, including 70 on that day and revisions to previous days, bringing the total to 14,820 since the pandemic hit in March.

The death toll has more than tripled since the beginning of November.