Covid-19 vaccine registration to open to Czech residents over 16 from June 4

People between the ages of 16 and 29 can register for Covid-19 vaccination in the Czech Republic as of Friday, June 4, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš tweeted today.

The Czech Republic has about 1.485 million inhabitants in this age group, he added.

"I believe that even the youngest people will express high interest [in the vaccination]," Babiš writes.

Among people between the ages of 30 and 50, 168,000 are currently waiting for their first vaccine dose, according to Babiš.

Health Minister Adam Vojtěch announced on Friday that a decision on whether the vaccination registration system would open on June 1 to all over 16 or just to the group of 25-29 years of age would be made on Sunday. It was previously expected that all over 16 would be able to register as of early June.

The registration was slightly postponed due the fact that many people are still waiting for their first dose.

Over the past five months, people in the Czech Republic have been able to register for vaccination gradually according to their age. Czech residents over 80 have been able to vaccinate since mid-January, and those over 70 since early March.

The percentage of people registering for vaccination has been dropping with each age group. Roughly half of Czech residents aged 40 to 49 have registered for Covid-19 vaccination.

Registration for those aged between 35 and 39 was launched last Sunday, and people aged between 30 and 34 have been able to register since Tuesday night.

Roughly 5.2 million vaccine doses have been administered in the Czech Republic since last December, and more than 1.4 million people have completed their vaccination. Two doses are needed to complete vaccination for most of the available vaccines. The total population of the Czech Republic is about 10.6 million people.

Vaccination is currently only available for those with public health insurance in the Czech Republic or another EU state.

A plan for making vaccination available to those with private health insurance is expected to be announced by June 1.