55,535 Registered for the Flu Vaccine, and the Country Has 30,000 Doses - Borrowed Ones at That

So far, 55,535 citizens have registered for the free seasonal flu vaccine. The country currently has 30,000 doses. The gap of more than 25,000 people is maths that any pensioner with an appointment text can work out for themselves.

Vaccination began on 21 October at 31 sites across the country. The first 30,000 doses are trivalent vaccines from a South Korean manufacturer, approved by the World Health Organization - and obtained through a loan. A second shipment of 26,000 doses is expected by 15 November, and the health authorities are announcing additional quantities that would bring the total, as last year, to 80,000 doses.

The interest is clear. More than 60 percent of those registered are over 65, and on the first day of more intensive vaccination around 800 people were vaccinated. The health authorities expect around 1,000 vaccinations a day. The free vaccine is for people over 65, the chronically ill, pregnant women, health workers and children from six months to five years old.

The system requires registration via vakcinacija.mk, after which "Moj termin" sends a text message with the date, time and place. Anyone who shows up without an appointment may be turned away. Doctors are therefore urging families to help older relatives register - which is good advice, but also an admission that the vaccine for the most vulnerable depends on whether they have a grandchild with a computer. A missed appointment can be used within about a month, and mobile teams will again this year vaccinate housebound people in their homes.

Doctors remind people that the body needs two to three weeks after the vaccine to build enough antibodies, and flu usually arrives with winter. Every day spent waiting for the second shipment is a day less of protection. Why does a state that knows every autumn that flu is coming start its campaign with borrowed doses, enough for just over half of those registered?