Skopje, 23 August 2021 (MIA) — To save lives, to bring back smiles, to let health workers rest, to go to cultural events again, to watch sports matches from the bleachers – these are the government's messages in its new public awareness campaign to promote vaccination and dispel confusion and vaccine misinformation, according to Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and Health Minister Venko Filipche at the "Get Vaccinated!" campaign launch on Monday. Zaev and Filipche reiterated that vaccines are safe and offer protection from severe forms of the disease and death. The prime minister also told anti-vaccination activists they had the constitutional right to protest, but also constitutional, he said, was everyone's right to be healthy. "The state has to protect public health," PM Zaev continued, adding that restrictions and vaccinations were the only way to fight the virus. "Citizens need to have correct, expert information about vaccines. We are at a critical point because of the virus mutations and the new wave, but also because of antivax information. "The fact that the largest percentage of new infections are unvaccinated people clearly confirms that vaccines work. "They are also safe," he added. Together with Minister Filipche, he warned citizens of the dangers of the much more contagious delta variant. Urging citizens to get their Covid-19 shots, they said vaccines were plentiful and available from various manufacturers. The health minister encouraged young people to get vaccinated, too. "I'm aware there are different opinions about vaccination," Filipche said, "but every step we take is to speed up the vaccination drive and beat the virus." He noted that vaccinations had picked up but the percentage of vaccinated citizens was not high enough. "The vaccination rate is going up, but we are still far from our target to end the crisis." "I'd like to ask young people: Get vaccinated. Protect yourselves and your loved ones," the health minister said, noting that Covid-19 could cause severe complications for unvaccinated young people, too. mr/