Eastern Europe preparing for COVID-19 Omicron surge amid low vaccination rates

Many countries in Eastern Europe only recently emerged from infection waves that at times have tallied some of the highest pandemic death rates globally.

As the fast-spreading coronavirus variant omicron rages through Western Europe, officials and experts in low-vaccinated Eastern Europe anticipate a post-holiday explosion of COVID-19 cases in much of the region.

Many countries in Eastern Europe only recently emerged from infection waves that put a catastrophic strain on health care systems, and at times have tallied some of the highest pandemic death rates globally.

Now, with omicron already confirmed across the region and the winter holidays bringing more community gatherings and international travel, public health officials are predicting a sharp virus surge in the coming weeks.

Adriana Pistol, director of Romania’s National Center for Surveillance and Control of Communicable Diseases, warned Wednesday that the country could see a peak of 25,000 new daily cases during the expected next wave. Romania is the European Union’s second-least vaccinated member nation.

Noting that roughly 60% of Romania’s people over age 65 or living with chronic diseases remain unvaccinated, Pistol said: “Even if the omicron strain does not have the same level of severity(,) … the health system will be overloaded anyway and reach levels recorded this year in October.”

Romania saw huge lines at borders before Christmas as hundreds of thousands of citizens flocked home, many from the West. The government started requiring travelers to complete passenger locator forms as of Dec. 20 to help track infections, but Pistol said many have failed to fill them out.

Only 40% of Romania’s population of around 19 million has been fully inoculated against COVID-19. Although booster doses are considered necessary to provide adequate protection against omicron, Pistol noted that three-quarters of the country’s fully jabbed individuals have yet to receive an additional shot.

Romania’s underfunded public health system teetered on the brink of collapse a few months ago, during the country’s last explosion of virus cases. Hospital morgues ran out of space for bodies, and some patients were transferred abroad for treatment because COVID-19 intensive care units were filled to capacity.