AP: “At Dracula’s castle in picturesque Transylvania, Romanian doctors are offering a jab in the arm rather than a stake through the heart. A COVID-19 vaccination center has been set up on the periphery of Romania’s Bran Castle, which is purported to be the inspiration behind Dracula’s home in Bram Stoker’s 19th-century gothic novel ‘Dracula.’ Every weekend through May ‘vaccination marathons’ will be held just outside the storied 14th-century hilltop castle, where no appointment is needed, in an attempt to encourage people to protect themselves against COVID-19. ‘We wanted to show people a different way to get the (vaccine) needle,’ Alexandru Priscu, the marketing manager at Bran Castle, told The Associated Press.”

“Those brave enough to get a Pfizer vaccine shot receive a ‘vaccination diploma,’ which is aptly illustrated with a fanged medical worker brandishing a syringe. ‘Besides the diploma, people benefit with free entry to the torture rooms, which have 52 medieval torture instruments,’ Priscu noted. Since the light-hearted campaign was launched over the weekend – when nearly 400 people were vaccinated – Priscu said he has received scores of requests from foreigners wishing to get vaccinated in the spooky setting. Bad news for them: only residents of Romania can officially receive a jab. The campaign runs alongside a series of government initiatives as it pushes to speed up the inoculation campaign for the European Union nation of more than 19 million people. The government is hoping to vaccinate 5 million people by June 1 to herald in a ‘return to normality.”