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You can now get the Covid vaccine at Dracula’s castle

You can now get the Covid vaccine at Dracula’s castle
AFP via Getty Images

As the Covid-19 vaccination programme looks to be providing a route out of the deadly pandemic, some are getting their vaccinations done in spectacular settings.

Bran Castle in Transylvania was the inspiration for Dracula’s lair in Bram Stoker’s 1897 book. Now, it has become a vaccination centre for locals.

What would usually be a bustling spot for international tourists, the castle has been affected by travel restrictions and has been repurposed.

With many cultural attractions closed to international tourists, and much of the world unable to travel due to pandemic, local tourists now have the unique opportunity to go to the castle to get a dose of the Pfizer vaccination.

All throughout May, the castle will run a vaccination programme on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, where visitors to Romania’s most famous tourist site will be able to get vaccinated.

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As well as providing protection from coronavirus, the castle is also offering free entry to its medieval torture devices exhibit.

The castle’s marketing director Alexandru Priscu compared the vaccination drive with “how people got jabbed 500-600 years ago in Europe”.

In a nod to its history, the lucky visitors who go to Dracula’s castle to be vaccinated will reportedly be greeted by a team of vaccinators wearing bloody fang stickers.

Some on Twitter joked that it was all a big ruse to lure people to the castle. One Twitter user wrote: “yeah not falling for this one.”

Another joked: “‘It says my vaccine was administered by... ‘Dr. Acula?’”

On a serious note, Romania has a high rate of vaccination hesitancy so it’s hoped this unique experience will encourage more people to receive the vaccine.

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