The Romanian Health Minister Alexandru Rafila states that Pfizer’s notice of summons before the court in Brussels for the anti-COVID vaccines was received by mail and that it is a situation that is not unexpected, considering that the same thing happened in the case of two other EU states, Poland and Hungary. The minister stated that enormous amounts of anti-COVID vaccine were contracted that Romania was not using, a situation that could not be accepted and was not even moral in this context, specifying that Romania should have ordered and received 28 million vaccine doses from Pfizer. According to Rafila, the government will look for a law firm, and Romania will try to coordinate with Poland from the point of view of the arguments against this contract. In this sense, they have already met with the Polish ambassador, News.ro reports.

Following a prolonged breach of contractual commitments and a period of good faith discussions between the parties, Pfizer and BioNTech have taken the difficult decision to initiate formal proceedings against Romania.
Pfizer and BioNTech aim to get Romania to meet its commitments for the orders of vaccines for COVID-19 placed by the Government of Romania as part of the European Union supply contract signed in May 2021.
Pfizer and BioNTech believe it is important that all parties honor their contractual obligations under the agreement that facilitated Europe’s successful response to the pandemic.
Pfizer and BioNTech continue to support this response and remain committed to providing vaccines for COVID-19 in accordance with their contractual agreements and the interest of public health.

Pfizer official answer to News.ro

The Minister of Health, Alexandru Rafila, stated on December 6, about the anti-COVID vaccines, that the contractual obligations assumed by Romania in the first half of 2021 still produce effects, and he hopes that a negotiated solution will be reached with their producers. He added that there is no point in ordering vaccines that will not be used. In October 2023, he stated that there is a chance to agree with one of the manufacturers of anti-Covid vaccines to end the contract amicably. However, the contract with Pfizer is still looking for solutions because Romania should buy another 27 million doses.

The purchase of vaccines during the pandemic is the subject of the Romanian anti-corruption prosecutors’ investigation; the former Prime Minister Florin Cîţu, the former Ministers of Health Vlad Voiculescu and Ioana Mihăilă and the former Secretary of State in the Ministry of Health Andrei Baciu being prosecuted for abuse of office with dire consequences.

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The prosecutors also asked for the waiver of immunity for the former health ministers Vlad “The Magician” Voiculescu and Ioana Mihaila.

The reaction of the Socialists, now the ruling party, was quick and blunt.

While the Romanians were dying, Voiculescu, Cîțu and Mihăilă STOLE! 1 billion euros was the cost paid by Romanians amid the pandemic for the millions of doses of useless vaccines bought by these criminals. Today, the DNA started the criminal investigation against this ORGANIZED CRIMINAL GROUP! The recidivist Cîțu and the “Magician” Voiculescu locked Romanians in their houses so they could STEAL! It’s time to pay for their deeds!

Romanian Socialists on the Party’s Facebook Page

The anti-corruption prosecutors accuse the three former high-ranking officials of acquiring 52,805,690 unnecessary vaccine doses, totalling 1,005,498,687 euros, to which VAT is added, which damages the state budget. Initially, Romania acquired 37,588,366 doses, which would have been enough to vaccinate more than 23 million people, 4 million more than the country’s total population.

Following this abuse, millions of doses expired and were destroyed or donated to third-world countries.

Other European Union countries woke up regarding acquiring vaccine doses during the so-called pandemic, and the EPPO – European Public Prosecutor’s Office started an investigation in that direction a year ago.

One thing is sure: when investigating the criminal deeds of any country’s official, prosecutors should investigate European officials as well. The contracts with the pharmaceutical giants were signed in Brussels, and the orders or suggestions to all the member states to acquire more vaccines came from the very top level of the European Commission.

The same European institution didn’t allow the member states to negotiate the acquisition of vaccines or buy them separately from the producers.

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The document is published as a pdf file, and it was accidentally discovered by a former spokesperson of the Ministry of Health, Bogdan Oprea. He also told the Romanian press that when he was a spokesperson, he was told by the coordinator of the vaccination campaign to cover up the adverse effects of the anti-Covid vaccines when he communicated to the public.

Romania is famous for the cumulative number of confirmed Covid-19 deaths per million inhabitants exceeded countries like India and Brazil but also exceeded the average of the European Union.

It should be mentioned that the coordinator of the vaccination campaign in Romania was a military officer – colonel Valeriu Gheorghita, now working for the Romanian Intelligence Agency SRI. Bogdan Oprea accuses him of covering up the proof that vaccination had adverse reactions. In reply to the accusations, Gheorghita rejected any of the deeds mentioned by Oprea.

The first national case of a side effect of the vaccine was in a lady from Vâlcea. Temporary right facial paralysis. I was the spokesperson. A senior ministry official, a doctor, looked at the medical record. Those from the local hospital had called a neurologist, he had made the diagnosis. Not an “ER”, not another doctor. They had done their job, they had taken care of the patient. We issued a statement summarizing the case, we made it our duty to inform people.
The head of CNCAV, Colonel Gheorghiță, called us. He was angry that I gave the statement. There were tensions between MS and CNCAV, but now we had a concrete case. Gheorghita asked us to lie. “How can we deny it if it’s true?” I asked him. “The woman has nothing,” he told us. I replied that we had the documents and added: “If she has nothing, why did you bring her by ambulance to Bucharest?”. He responded that she had a “panic attack.” I will never forget this.

Former spokesperson of the Ministry of Health, Bogdan Oprea, on the cover-ups of the adverse effects of the vaccination – interview for Libertatea

Bogdan Oprea is not against vaccination but on the contrary. Even now, he thinks vaccination is the right approach to stop the spreading of Covid. At the same time, as a journalism professor at Bucharest University, he thinks transparency in communicating the adverse effects should also be compulsory. But, as it appears, the Romanian authorities did not consider it this way.

The report talks about 41,486 adverse reactions post-vaccination that Romanians weren’t informed about. On top of that, doctors are talking about up to 9 times more adverse reactions.

In all public appearances, adverse effects were downplayed, and doctors were, by various methods, discouraged from reporting them. Furthermore, vaccinated individuals had no follow-up to detect adverse reactions and post-vaccination complications. But even if we take only the reported figures for granted, we must note that there was iatrogenicity: more than 19,000 healthy people became ill because of a medical act – vaccination. Statistically, it is little, factually it is worrying

Dr Vasile Astarastoae cited by R3Media on the vaccination report in Romania

The scandal appears in a very interesting context, as the adverse reactions to the Astra Zeneca vaccine are being revealed in Romania.

I was right. We were sold something as single and effective. Who is responsible for this hidden information, and who is responsible for the dead? In Italy, compensation is already granted, and a fund of 250 million euros exists. Who is responsible for the sudden deaths because they are still not talking about? I voted against the digital passport, which conditioned the right to education and health. Who answers? Things are serious, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. I existed at the greatest medical experiment in the history of the planet

MEP Tudor Ciuhodaru, health doctor, on the cover-up of the adverse reactions of the anti-Covid vaccines for Stiri pe surse

At the European level, actions are being taken to discover the truth about the vaccination campaign. The very president of the European Commission is to be questioned by a European Parliament committee on the acquisition of the vaccine doses. A formal investigation of the vaccination campaign is opened by the EPPO – the European Prosecutor’s Office. It appears that clauses in the contracts with Pfizer and other suppliers have been hidden from the public, and the investigators need to find any corruption-related acts.

This scandal is just another example of how, by covering up something today, one won’t be able to be credible when telling the truth later. Also, the truth will always come up sooner or later, and the effects of hiding it in the first place can be far stronger than the ones one tried to cover.

Unfortunately, it appears there will be no formal investigation on the subject in Romania. The ruling coalition is strong enough to block any such attempt, and the voting intention shows that at least one of the ruling parties will continue ruling from 2024 onwards. The deceased, the paralyzed, and the seriously affected people following vaccination will be left behind and only mentioned in statistics.

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According to the Minister of Health, Alexandru Rafila, the protective mask will no longer be mandatory, neither indoors nor outdoors, economic operators will operate without capacity restrictions, and also, the COVID digital certificate will no longer be required upon entering Romania.

This comes after Romanian authorities announced that the alert state would not be extended, and wave 5 of the COVID-19 pandemic is nearing its end.

The fact that the Government has decided to lift the alert state leads to a new situation, in which all restrictions will be lifted. I will also make professional recommendations so that the impact of the measures does not result in an increase in the number of cases.

Alexandru Rafila, Romanian Minister of Health

What does this relaxation entail?

• The use of the mask in outdoor and indoor spaces will no longer be mandatory
• There will be no limits on access to various public spaces, such as commercial spaces, catering institutions, public institutions;
• There will be no more curfews;
• The PLF – Passenger Location Certificate will no longer be required;
• Upon entering the country, the electronic COVID certificate will no longer be required;

However, the health minister highlights that the ministry will “strongly” recommend more measures, even if they are no longer mandatory.

Recommended measures:

• Wearing a protective mask in crowded open spaces, in public transport, in closed spaces, including health facilities, in kindergartens, schools, universities;
• Avoid crowded spaces whether they are closed or open;
• Hand washing, use of an antiseptic;
• Public transport and public interest facilities must be regularly cleaned and disinfected;
• People who have symptoms – testing, presentation to the doctor, at the evaluation center;
• The measures are part of the individual responsibility package.

Even if this period of relaxation will lead to an increase, hopefully, temporary of new cases, the Romanian authorities encourage the citizens of Romania to be prudent and individually responsible to not return to the previous state.

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It’s been two years since Romania entered a state of emergency due to the Covid-19 virus. This period changed many lives and perspectives on how the usual course of life can shift instantly. From wearing a mandatory mask to a lock-down and then to a vaccine, Romania has gone through a series of anti-emptying measures to stop this pandemic.

After all of these, Romania began to relax the pandemic’s restrictions. From March 8, 2022, some of the limitations will no longer be valid and, according to the president of Romania, the state of emergency will not be prolonged.

We are no longer extending the alert status on the Romanian territory beyond March 8. With the lifting of the alert road, a series of measures that have been in force until now will be eliminated. The complete measures will be announced and explained in detail in the next period by the competent authorities.

Klaus Johannes, President of Romania

The main relaxation measures are:

• giving up the outdoor mask
• giving up entry with a green certificate in malls, hotels, boarding houses, restaurants, institutions
• permission to organize private events with up to 200 participants

Many other European countries like Germany, Norway, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Portugal have partially dropped restrictions. The percentage of the vaccinated population exceeds 70% in these countries, while it has not yet exceeded 50% in Romania.

To relax the restrictions, the head of the emergency department, Raed Arafat, mentioned that Romanians would have to live with the virus eventually to return to normal.

I hope to be in the phase where we are as close as possible or wholly usual and to live together, in the end, we will live with this virus. The virus will not disappear, but we will live together, especially if Omicron remains predominant, which is more contagious, but it has a lower virulence.

Raed Arafat, Head of the Emergency Department

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We have received a total of 4,478,000 doses of AstraZeneca. 852,356 doses were administered and distributed in total, plus what entered the resale or donation mechanism, 3,300,000 doses, of which these 917,000 came out of the validity period.

Valeriu Gheorghita, Coordinator of the Vaccination Campaign in Romania

From a total of 4.5 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses that Romania has, only one million were administrated among the Romanian population. The vaccination campaign in Romania is a failure, as only 40% of the population has taken the jab.

We currently have 917,800 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Most of them in the regional storage centres. Another part can be found in the public health departments. The procedure for destroying these doses is being completed in the next period from the discussions I had with colleagues from the Ministry of Health because they must be taken out of stock and given for destruction. So they will not be returned to the distributor.

Valeriu Gheorghita, President of CNCAV

As ridiculous as it sounds, Romania loses a large sum of money on undistributed vaccine doses that now have reached an expiration date. Precisely, Romania loses 3 EUR for each dose of Astra Zeneca destroyed.

This is the result of the mismanagement in coordinating the vaccination campaign. Once again, this proof shows that those responsible are incapable of managing these emergencies, let alone minimise financial losses of this kind.

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During the red scenario, the access is limited to activities within restaurants to 30% of their capacity. Also, masks are mandatory in public and closed spaces.

Most cases of Covid were registered in Bucharest, around 700 a day. However, there is a decrease of 131 new infections compared to the previous day. Also, after Bucharest, most infections were reported in the counties of Cluj (440), Timiș (327), Constanța (318), and Suceava (233).

The list of cities that exceeded the incidence rate of 3 includes Rădăuţi (Suceava) – 5.49, Salcea (Suceava) – 5.17, Cluj-Napoca (Cluj) – 5.02, Predeal (Braşov) – 5.01.

More than 4,100 new cases of COVID have been reported across the country. Nationally, the incidence is 1.65 per thousand.

Wave 5 seems to take the authorities by surprise, again,, as the number of infections increases day by day. Thus, the red scenario could soon be installed in most counties.

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Romania’s digital passenger locator form shows the countries and areas where a person traveled before entering Romania. The Government introduced the form to maintain our health and those around us. Before entering Romania, the form must be filled out individually with a maximum of 24 hours’ notice. It may be performed on your phone, tablet, or computer via electronic means.

If the individual has filled out the form, it will be shown in the Border Police’s computer system while verifying the identification card/passport. In this way, the authorities will have confirmation if the person has filled in the form. You don’t have to print the document.

Between 25.12 and 31.11.2021, around 40,000 people entered the country without filling in the digital form. Thus, authorities applied 13,634 sanctions amounting to 6.257.391,43 euros. Of these, 5,960 sanctions amounting to 3.616.870,13 were given by the authorities in Bucharest.

Many people had additional expenditures between Christmas and New Year because of these forms. Maybe some people were unaware of the digital passenger locator form (dPLF) or chose to ignore it. However, the penalties were tough, and the authorities forgave no one.

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Gendarmerie forces are overwhelmed and the Romanian Secret Service – SPP, which protects the building, blocked the large doors to secure the entrance inside. Nobody is able to enter or exit.

Notably, this large protest, gathering thousands of people from all over Romania, takes place exactly 32 years after the Revolution in 1989. On December 21, 1989, hundreds of young Romanians were shot or arrested for protesting for liberty.

The nationalist party AUR organizes the ongoing protest. Its leader, George Simion, is famous for his attitude against COVID-19 restrictions. His nationalist political approach makes him an undesirable partner for the other Parliamentary parties, mainly the Socialists, PSD, and the Liberals, PNL. Also, the Hungarian minority is against any cooperation with AUR, which makes this party the perfect Opposition formation of the moment.

Less than 35% of the population is vaccinated in Romania. Some say the percentage is less than 30%, considering the fake vaccination procedures identified so far. This means that close to 70% of the population oppose compulsory vaccination.

This is the context of today’s protest, and this is what the people want: no compulsory vaccination, no restrictions based on vaccination certificates. Instead, protesters want the interdictions to be applied for being infected, not for being unvaccinated.

A decision from Prime Minister Ciuca is waited for assuming or no his responsibility in the Parliament for this law.

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