Morning headlines – October 19th 2021

Coronavirus and vaccines

• Vaccination in Romania: In the last 24 hours, more than 67.000 people got vaccinated. Totally, more than 6.01 million people got the vaccine, with more than 5.68 getting both doses and 550.000 of them getting the third dose.
• Coronavirus in Romania: In the last 24 hours, there were recorded 10.141 new SARS CoV-2 cases, 201 deaths, and in ICU there are now 1.764 people hospitalized.
• The European Medicines Agency is evaluating the administration of vaccines to kids above 5 years old. The EMA announced, on Monday, that it has started to evaluate the administration of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to kids aged between 5-11 years. (Reuters)

Global politico-military events

• The United States guarantees the territorial integrity of Georgia. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III visited Georgia on Monday, where he said that the United States guarantees Georgia's territorial integrity and its unconditionally support for it, given that Russia occupied 20% of it in 2008, the provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. (Pentagon)
• Pentagon’s chief arrives in Ukraine. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III arrives in Ukraine today to discuss security and interoperability with NATO forces with the president and defense minister. (Pentagon)
• North Korea has launched a ballistic missile. The North Korean military launched a ballistic missile near Sinpo on Tuesday, falling into the Sea of ​​Japan, according to South Korean military officials. (AP)
• The Polish army will have the first three nanosatellites in 2024. A consortium of several Polish companies will build three nanosatellites for the army, which will be launched into orbit in 2024. (Space News)
• NATO no longer has an office in Moscow. The activity of the NATO office in Moscow will be suspended, starting with November 1, in retaliation for the Alliance's decision to revoke the accreditation of eight officials of the Russian mission to NATO, on the grounds that they are undercover intelligence officers. (AP)

Romania's defense and security

• Extended political crisis: Today, the specialized parliamentary commissions will hear the ministers proposed by Dacian Ciolos, and on Wednesday the Parliament will vote for the Ciolos Government. According to the statements of the leaders of the main parties in the Parliament, PSD and PNL, the Ciolos Government has little chances to pass. (Aleph News)
• Security barometer. In the latest survey conducted by the Laboratory for Information Warfare Analysis and Strategic Communication (LARICS), in partnership with the Institute of Political Science and International Relations (ISPRI) of the Romanian Academy, between 1 and 10 October 2021, published on Monday, the army is listed with 86.6% with large and a lot of trust, the second place being occupied by the church, with 70.2%. Fundamental state institutions, such as the President of Romania, are quoted with only 22.7%, the Government - 19.1%, the Parliament - 21.4%. When it comes to international organizations, Romanians trust NATO - 67.3% and the EU - 59.2%. At the same time, Romanians consider that the main threats to the country are the economic crisis - 51.5%, corruption - 46.3%, the COVID-19 pandemic - 43.3% and the incompetence of the political class - 41.2%. Russia is perceived as a threat to national security by only 4.8% of Romanians, and China by 1.7%. The maximum permissible data error is ± 3.1%, at a 95% confidence level, according to the survey organizers.