Press Release - AmCham requests priority vaccination of non-healthcare workers necessary for maintenance of medical equipment

The American Chamber of Commerce in Croatia (AmCham) sent a request to the Minister of Health Vili Beroš and the Director of the Croatian Institute of Public Health Krunoslav Capak for priority vaccination of non-healthcare workers necessary for maintaining and servicing medical equipment, and providing professional and technical support for operative and implant procedures.

A certain number of companies in the healthcare sector offers medical devices and equipment such as respirators, patient test analysis devices (including Covid tests), dialysis devices etc. used in treatment of patients and diagnostics at all levels of healthcare in the Republic of Croatia. The devices and equipment should be regularly maintained and serviced and therefore employees of the above companies are regularly deployed to work in healthcare institutions every day. Their work maintains the healthcare system and its functioning in these difficult conditions. Therefore, we at AmCham think that the employees of those companies should enjoy the same status to the one afforded to the healthcare workers and other healthcare system employees, and be allowed to be vaccinated immediately after the first part of the vaccination encompassing the most vulnerable population groups.

Their job entails direct work in the field in healthcare institutions, as well as contact with healthcare workers, and cannot be performed remotely, which makes them exposed.

Therefore, AmCham believes that the treatment provided to the healthcare workers in the process of vaccination of the Croatian population against Covid-19 should be offered to the aforementioned staff of the companies maintaining and servicing medical equipment and the employees providing professional and technical support for operative and implant procedures in the Croatian healthcare system, and that they should be recognized as a priority group.