HRK 2.31 billion was paid by the Croatian Health Insurance Institute, Beroš said while presenting a quarterly report on measures taken to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
Commenting on concern about the nation’s state of health, the minister said that contacts between citizens and their general practitioners had dropped by only 1.9% and that the number of phone contacts and e-mail messages had increased while prevention measures, notably for cancer patients, were largely proceeding normally considering the circumstances.
As for the number of ordered COVID-19 vaccines, he explained that it refers not just to this year but also to 2022 and 2023.
Vaccine effective in 75 to 80% of cases involving new virus variants
Speaking of the correlation between vaccination and mortality, Beroš said that the vaccine was effective against new variants of the virus.
“We have to be grateful to science and the medical profession for producing a vaccine that is effective against new variants in 75 to 80% of cases. This vaccine, just as any other vaccine, does not protect 100%,” Beroš said.
Speaking of the June-August period, he said that the epidemic was much less intense, which contributed to the excellent tourism results.
In the period covered by the report, the health system adjusted, reduced the number of COVID wards, and increased the provision of medical services to other patients, continuing to intensively implement testing and monitoring of infected patients as well as vaccination, he said.
1.5 million vaccine doses administered over three months
The minister said that since early June, 249 venues had been set up across the country, mostly in the coastal areas, for rapid antigen testing and issuing of COVID-19 certificates, and that in the June-August period 1.5 million vaccine doses were administered.
“Despite a large number of tourists and domestic residents, we managed to maintain a calm and stable epidemiological situation in the country, securing for ourselves the status of the safest Mediterranean destination,” he said, adding that in the three-month period 18,622 cases of infection were recorded.
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