Dracula’s castle provides setting for Covid-19 jabs

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Dracula’s Castle Provides Setting For Covid-19 Jabs
A child wears a vampire mask while walking in the courtyard of Bran Castle in Bran, Romania, © AP/Press Association Images
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By Stephen McGrath, Associated Press

A Covid-19 vaccination centre has been set up on the periphery of Romania’s Bran Castle, which is purported to be the inspiration behind Dracula’s home in Bram Stoker’s 19th-century gothic novel.

Every weekend through May, “vaccination marathons” will be held just outside the storied 14th-century hilltop castle in Transylvania, where no appointment is needed, in an attempt to encourage people to protect themselves against Covid-19.

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“We wanted to show people a different way to get the (vaccine) needle,” Alexandru Priscu, the marketing manager at Bran Castle, told the Associated Press.

Those brave enough to get a Pfizer vaccine shot receive a “vaccination diploma”, which is aptly illustrated with a fanged medical worker brandishing a syringe.


Bran Castle, better known as Dracula Castle, in Romania’s central Transylvania region
Bran Castle, better known as Dracula Castle, in Romania’s central Transylvania region (Vadim Ghirda/AP)

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“Besides the diploma, people benefit with free entry to the (castle’s) torture rooms, which have 52 medieval torture instruments,” Mr Priscu noted.

Since the light-hearted campaign was launched over the weekend – when nearly 400 people were vaccinated – Mr Priscu said he has received scores of requests from foreigners wishing to get vaccinated in the spooky setting.

Bad news for them: only residents of Romania can officially receive a jab.

The campaign runs alongside a series of government initiatives as it pushes to speed up the inoculation campaign for the European Union nation of more than 19 million people.

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The inner courtyard of Bran Castle
The inner courtyard of Bran Castle (Andreea Alexandru/AP)

The government is hoping to vaccinate five million people by June 1 to herald a “return to normality”.

On Saturday, all vaccination centres in the country became appointment-free after 2pm, and round-the-clock “vaccination marathon” events have been launched in several cities throughout Romania.

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Since the pandemic started, Romania has recorded more than one million Covid-19 infections and 29,034 people have died.

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