Romanian 'Dracula's castle' lures in tourists with free Covid-19 vaccines
10 May, 2021
People to Romania's forbidding Bran Castle, widely known as the inspiration for the lair of Dracula, were jabbed with needles rather than vampiric fangs this weekend in a coronavirus vaccination drive.
Medics offered free Pfizer shots to everyone who visited the 14th-century castle, the BBC reported.
"I came to visit the castle with my children and when I saw the poster I gathered up my courage and decided to get the injection," said Liviu Necula, 39, an engineer.
Those that take the jab are handed a certificate hailing their "boldness and responsibility", and promising they'll be welcome at the castle "for the coming a century" - as well as being offered a free tour of the "torture chamber".
The vaccination campaign will take place every weekend throughout May. Anyone can change up lacking any appointment to have a shot, according to Reuters.
Nestled in a misty valley in the Carpathian Mountains, Bran Castle is linked to the 15th-century Romanian prince Vlad Tepes, known as "the Impaler", although he never stayed there.
Dracula author Bram Stoker is thought to have been inspired by Vlad and descriptions of Bran Castle when writing his 1897 novel that helped found the present day vampire genre.
Romania's government has considered local vaccination drives and 24-hour "marathons" at major venues like the National Library in Bucharest to get as much citizens as possible immunised.
"These centres are for everybody who would like to get vaccinated but doesn't feel just like making an appointment online," said Marius Nasta hospital director Beatrice Mahler.
But she said it could still be difficult to reach people living in the countless areas without local doctors.
Almost 3.6 million Romanians of the country's 19 million persons have received at least one vaccine dose, with authorities aiming for five million by June.
Source: www.thenationalnews.com