Journalists’ Crisis Cell //”Oameni și Kilometri” Is the First Newsroom Whose Reporters Have Been Vaccinated against COVID-19 after the Ministry of Health Accepted That Media Staff Could Be Immunized at the Second Stage

Polina Cupcea, the journalist who manages the “Oameni și Kilometri” media project, mentions that almost the entire team was vaccinated with the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine simultaneously. “It is a well-organized process. I presented my identity card, and they checked my data in the list of the newsroom staff which had been sent by me before. Then they checked my blood pressure and body temperature, after which I was given the first dose of the vaccine”, Polina Cupcea comments for Media Azi.

The journalist specifies that, as soon as she saw the response from the MHLSP representatives on including journalists in the second stage of vaccination, she called the green line displayed on the vaccinare.gov.md website to learn more details about the published information.

After that, Polina Cupcea was redirected to the vaccination managers from the Territorial Medical Association of the Centru Sector (the Centru TMA), an institution which serves the area where the newsroom is registered.  “They told me to file a request in free form. Then the manager sent us an Excel file to make a list of the newsroom staff. I have also attached the reply from the Ministry of Health to confirm that we, the journalists, are among those who can be vaccinated at the second stage. After we filed our applications, the person in charge told us to make an appointment”, Polina Cupcea explains.

The newsroom was informed that, on April 9, the journalists could show up for the AstraZeneca vaccine. “I got vaccinated because health is a vital issue, and this last year has demonstrated it is true. Besides, I really need to feel free and return to a regular life. Let us also think of our parents and grandparents whom we need to protect”, Polina Cupcea affirms.

Other newsrooms have also announced they are either compiling the lists of their staff who agree to be vaccinated or are waiting for confirmations from the authorities to get vaccinated.

On April 5, the Ministry of Health assured that front-line media staff would be included in the category of persons eligible for priority immunization, according to an official reply sent to the Journalists’ Crisis Cell founded by the Independent Journalism Center. The healthcare officials also state that, in addition to reporters and cameramen, auxiliary staff of media institutions will be allowed to get vaccinated at the second stage of anti-COVID-19 immunization.