The 700 Year Old Romanian Castle That Inspired “Dracula” Is Now A Free COVID Vaccination Site

Dracula has gone from sucking blood to injecting vaccines.

In what is undoubtedly fertile ground for irony and a glance into the sad reality of the post-Covid world, the more than 700 year old castle that was said to have inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula is now being used as a Covid vaccination site.

The landmark is offering free Pfizer vaccines for visitors every weekend in May, according to CBS. 

Medics on site wear fang stickers and the castle boasts signs that feature Dracula’s fangs replaced with vaccination needles.

Visitors to the site can show up without an appointment and, after getting vaccinated, will receive “free admission” to the castle’s exhibits of – you guessed it – medieval torture instruments.

Romania has pledged to vaccinate at least 10 million people by September. The country’s number currently stands at about 5.8 million people, out of a total population of 19.41 million. 

The country has “one of the highest vaccine hesitancy rates,” the report notes (though with thoughtful stunts like this one, we can’t imagine why people aren’t taking it more seriously). “Nearly half” the country’s population doesn’t want to get vaccinated. 

Those in charge hope the “Dracula’s castle” approach to medicine not only helps administer more vaccines, but drives up tourism numbers in the process.

It’s a bold strategy. Let’s see if it works out for them.