Coronavirus update, Jan. 27, 2021: Prague launches comprehensive new vaccination info website

The coronavirus risk index within the Czech epidemic system PES stayed at 68 points on the 0-100 scale today, and the only of its four indicators to worsen mildly is the reproduction number R, which has increased to 0.94 from Tuesday's 0.93, the Health Ministry's morning data show.

The risk index has kept at the fourth or second highest degree for two weeks, but the toughest, fifth-level lockdown has been in force in the country for a month and the cabinet is not planning to soften it for the time being.

The infection reproduction number R has been mildly rising for 10 days in a row, from 0.68 on January 16 to 0.94 today. This figure contributes with six points to the infection index.

Out of the other index calculation criteria, 16 points are added for the average number of new COVID cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the past two weeks, and another 16 points for the two-week average number of infected seniors. The share of those who were diagnosed with COVID only after their admission to hospital contributes with 30 points to the index. These three indicators have been steadily falling.

Visitors will find answers to fundamental questions about vaccination prepared together with health professionals. Another goal of the site will be to refute misleading information that spreads on social networks. So far, the website is only in Czech.

“You will find here, for example, a number for a free information and registration line. A simple guide will then guide you step by step through the vaccination registration. The map will show you the location of vaccination centers in Prague. In the FAQ section, you can read the answers that are guaranteed by experts,” he added.

Visuals will appear in the second phase of the campaign during February with a common communication line referring to the return to normal life before the pandemic. The first set of visuals will work with motifs of family, business, and education. The campaign will later work with motifs of sports, travel, and culture.

About 40 percent of Praguers believe that they do not have enough practical information about vaccination. They would most often like to get it from a clear website. They are also interested in, for example, a phone call with a general practitioner or an information leaflet to the mailbox.

Public health authorities have been tracing all suspicious cases preferentially and laboratories have been extending their capacities of sample sequencing, a method that can confirm the mutation in samples, Blatný told journalists.

Most recently, one confirmed case of the mutation and another 17 suspected cases have been reported by the hospital in Slaný, Central Bohemia.

Peterová said Pfizer/BioNTech had shipped 255 boxes with vials of the vaccine to distribution centers. When recalculating five doses per vial, this means 248,625 doses, while if six are calculated, this may be up to 298,350 doses.

A total of 8,400 doses have been imported from Moderna, the other manufacturer approved by the European Union, Peterová said.

Roughly 104,000 Czech medical workers were vaccinated against COVID-19 until Saturday as two-thirds of the inoculated work in hospitals and medical rescue teams and some 9,000 have already received their second vaccine dose, Czech Doctors’ Chamber head Milan Kubek wrote.

According to Kubek's previous statements, there are over 200,000 medical professionals in the Czech Republic.

So far, health workers booked their spot directly in vaccination centers, but yesterday the online registration system was launched.