Walk-in vaccination centers to open in Prague from Monday

Two new vaccination centers that will offer instant vaccination to walk-in patients without prior registration will open in Prague from Monday, July 12. The new walk-in vaccine centers will be located at Prague's Hlavní nádraží train station and Chodov shopping center.

All adults over the age of sixteen will be able to request and receive a vaccine at these new centers, the Czech Health Ministry has announced.

"Both centers will open from Monday morning," Health Ministry spokesperson Gabriela Štěpanyová told journalists.

"The Chodov [vaccine center] will be open Monday to Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the evening. It will close an hour earlier on Saturday. The Hlavní nádraží [vaccine center] will be open from noon to 7 p.m."

The vaccination center at Chodov will be using the Pfizer vaccine, which means that people will need to return after a few weeks to receive a second dose and complete the vaccination process.

At Hlavní nádraží, however, the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be used. Since people getting vaccinated at the train station may be travelers from outside of Prague, health officials wanted to ensure they will be fully vaccinated without having to return for a second dose.

Health officials estimate that 100 people per day can be vaccinated at each center, but stress that they have been built in such a way that they can be expanded to accommodate more patients in case of increased interest. The Chodov center will be initially staffed by three doctors, while the Hlavní nádraží, center will have one or two at a time.

"We know from abroad that it works, that people use it and are excited about it," Štěpanyová said.

"But we definitely do not want to turn off the reservation system. It will continue to work for citizens who want to concretely plan their vaccination time."

The walk-in vaccine centers will operate on a pilot basis through August and then be re-evaluated. If successful, they may be expanded through the rest of the country. 

"We want people to be able to get vaccinated immediately without any obstacles," Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said last week when announcing the new centers.

"And we want as many people as possible to be vaccinated."

By the end of July, about half of the Czech population will have completed the vaccination process.

Still, the number of people getting vaccinated has been on the decline over the past weeks. Officials are currently looking for ways of motivating younger people to get vaccinated, and could take inspiration from programs now being used in other European countries.

Those could include incentives like Poland's lottery jackpot for vaccinated people, or Greece's cash and mobile data in exchange for vaccination.