A COVID-19 vaccine centre has been set up at Dracula's castle in Transylvania. Healthcare professionals with fang stickers on their scrubs are providing Pfizer shots to everyone who visits Bran Castle in central Romania. The goal of operating a vaccination clinic on this site is to encourage Romanians to get the vaccine.
Compared to global numbers, Romania has recorded over a million infections and 29,000 deaths since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Romanian government aims to vaccinate 10 million people by September. However, a large number of Romanians are not interested in getting the vaccine. In fact, the region has one of the highest levels of hesitancy in Europe.
This initiative of offering the vaccine at Bran Castle is expected to help boost vaccination numbers. Throughout the weekends in May, people can walk into the castle and get the Pfizer vaccine without an appointment. They will also get a free entry to the castle's exhibit of 52 medieval torture instruments to show how people got jabbed 600 years ago in Europe.
Another reason for setting up a vaccination clinic at Dracula's castle is to encourage tourists to visit Romania's Carpathian Mountains. People are fascinated with Dracula, and there is significant evidence that Bram Stoker's Dracula was actually based on Prince Vlad the Impaler, who lived in this castle.
It certainly is a fascinating way to attract tourists and motivate people to get vaccinated. Here's hoping the Romanian government is successful in encouraging more and more Romanians to get jabbed. If not, they at least get full marks for creativity and innovation.
