Public health statistics show that by the end of last week the coastal region of Dalmatia had the lowest vaccination rates in the country, while Zagreb, Istria, and Primorje-Gorski Kotar counties topped the list, with vaccination rates of 40 percent, 36.6 percent and 35.8 percent of their respective populations.   

The bottom five counties include three Dalmatian counties, with Sibenik-Knin County having the poorest results and a vaccination rate of only 26.6 percent. Split-Dalmatia and Zadar counties have inoculated barely 28 percent of their residents each. Another coastal county, the Dubrovnik-Neretva County, bucked the trend, with a vaccination rate of 32.4 percent – just under the national average of 33.4 percent.

On the other hand, the situation in the northern Adriatic is much better. The City of Zagreb, which has a vaccination rate of close to 40 percent, is followed by the northern Adriatic county of Istria, with a vaccination rate of 36.6 percent, and Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, with a vaccination rate of 35.8 percent.

“As the coronavirus epidemic is subsiding, so is the interest in vaccination,” state agency Hina said. However, experts warn that vaccination is a guarantee of a longer tourist season and a “calmer autumn,” when the epidemic could flare up again.

Croatia’s government had set a target to vaccinate at least 50 percent of Croatia’s 4 million population with at least one dose by the end of June.

So far 44 percent of a total of 3.2 million adults aged over 18 have been vaccinated, including 22 percent who have received both doses. In relation to the total population, which includes children, 33 percent of all Croatians have been vaccinated with one dose and only 14.6 percent have received both shots so far.