By mid-January 45,906 people in Croatia have received the first shot of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and the second shot will be administered as of 18 January, the Croatian Institute of Public Health said on Sunday.

The second dose will be given to people who have been vaccinated across the country since 27 December.

All persons inoculated with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine need to receive the second shot three weeks after the first.

The World Health Organization says the optimal gap between the two shots of that vaccine, the first to be registered in the EU, is 21 to 28 days. According to clinical studies, it should not exceed six weeks.

4,757 people vaccinated in quake-hit Sisak-Moslavina County

In Sisak-Moslavina County, which was hit by a magnitude 6.2 earthquake on 29 December, 4,757 people have been vaccinated. Besides local inhabitants, many of whom lost their homes, members of emergency services and volunteers who stayed in the area after the tremor were also vaccinated.

Inoculation with Moderna’s vaccine began on 13 January in Sisak-Moslavina County and among members of emergency services before they go to the quake-hit areas. The gap between the two shots of this vaccine is a minimum of four weeks.

Coronavirus vaccination in Croatia began on 27 December and the first to be vaccinated was a female resident of a Zagreb retirement home.