Romania is offering locals and tourists a chance to visit Dracula's castle for free while getting their COVID-19 vaccines.
Health officials in the European nation set up a coronavirus vaccination center at the castle purported to be the inspiration for Bram Stoker's "Dracula" novel.
Doctors and nurses administering the vaccines wore fang stickers and Dracula-themed costumes as they give visitors free Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines. Health officials said all visitors to the 14th century Bran Castle can opt to get the vaccines if they have not yet been vaccinated.
Staff at the Transylvanian attraction said they hope the program brings in more visitors to the site in Romania's Carpathian Mountains. Since the pandemic, visitors to the castle have plummeted and the castle's staff members have been trying to find ways to attract guests.
According to Castle staff, anyone can turn up and get a vaccine without an appointment every weekend throughout the entire month. Those that do get a vaccine will be given free entry to the castle's exhibit, which includes 52 medieval torture instruments along with other medieval artifacts.
Bran Castle's marketing director, Alexandru Priscu, said in an interview that visitors can now look forward to getting puncture marks in their arms instead of their necks when they visit the site this month.
"The idea ... was to show how people got jabbed 500-600 years ago in Europe," Priscu said.
Visitors that got their shots over the weekend said being offered free vaccines and entry into the tourist site was a "two-for-one" treat. Apart from attracting visitors to the historic castle, the program is also part of the Romanian government's efforts to inoculate its population.
Officials previously set a goal of vaccinating at least 10 million Romanian residents by September. According to a study conducted by Bratislava-based think tank Globsec, Romanians are among the least inclined to get vaccinated among all of the European Union's members.
