President Praises Attitude of Local Government and its Key Role in Vaccination

Banska Bystrica, March 26 (TASR) – I praise the approach of local government, which, in my opinion is playing an absolutely key role in vaccination against COVID-19, President Zuzana Caputova said on Friday following her visit to the regional vaccination centre in Banska Bystrica and F.D. Roosevelt Faculty Hospital.

“I’d call today a day of good news. Because the meeting in the Banska Bystrica hospital, where they register a reduced number of hospitalisations, but also the experience that we could see with our own eyes in this vaccination centre, is very good news,” said the head of state.

In the fight against the pandemic, the president praised the merits of local government both at the local and regional levels. According to her, they played a key role in countrywide testing, and they are currently playing it in vaccination. “The self-governing regions have taken a very active approach to this task and have set up large-scale vaccination centres in their territories,” added Caputova.

During her visit to Banska Bystrica, the president attended a meeting with the Self-governing Regions Association (SK-8) and with representatives of the Health Ministry.

Finance Minister Eduard Heger (OLaNO), who’s been entrusted with heading the Health Ministry on a temporary basis, described the large-scale vaccination centres as an example of good co-operation between the state and local government. “With each jab we vaccinate a citizen of the Slovak Republic, we strike a very strong blow to the pandemic and we get significantly closer to victory over the pandemic,” noted Heger, adding that by the summer Slovakia should have 5 million doses of ordered registered vaccines.