Kyriakidou: The goal is to supply the doses to vaccinate 70% of adults in the EU by mid-July

The Minister of Health of Cyprus, Konstantinos Ioannou, expressed his satisfaction with the progress of the National Vaccination Plan against COVID-19 so far. European Commissioner for Health, Stella Kyriakidou, in their statements on the sidelines of their visit to the Vaccination Center that operates at the State Exhibition Center, in Nicosia.

Speaking about today’s visit to the Vaccination Center, the Minister of Health said that he informed the European Commissioner about the fact that “in Cyprus we are moving fast with the vaccine our plan as we have planned it. We are moving towards the goal of covering 65% of the population with at least one dose of the vaccine. Currently about 53% of the population has been vaccinated with the first dose and 28% have completed their vaccination. We are building the wall of immunity, we are already seeing the results of the vaccination in the reduction of hospitalizations and cases in the ages that have already been shielded, which are those over 60 and especially those over 70. We want to thank the citizens once again for the response they show and the responsibility, responding to the call for vaccination and we are moving towards the shielding of the population of Cyprus “.

Kyriakidou: Congratulations in Cyprus

For her part, European Commissioner for Health Stella Kyriakidou expressed her congratulations to the Minister of Health for the excellent effort made to vaccinate the population against COVID-19. “Cyprus is currently in the first places of the EU member states in terms of the first tranche and is moving forward. At the same time, I wanted to thank all the medical and paramedical staff located in the Vaccination Centers and the citizens themselves, who responsibly come for vaccination, shielding not only themselves, but also those around them “, underlined Ms. Kyriakidou.

“I found that all the protocols and the protection of personal data in the way they are called to be vaccinated are observed and the opportunity I had to talk to citizens, showed that they are extremely happy, not only with the way they are organized, but also feel very positive about the issue. of vaccination. It is important that we all together – and I rely on everyone – fight the misinformation that exists, because only through vaccination – and we currently have four vaccines approved by Coreper that are safe and effective – only in this way will “We can overcome the pandemic,” said the European Commissioner.

Asked when a significant level of immunity is expected in the EU, Ms Kyriakidou reiterated that the goal set by the European Commission is to provide Member States with a sufficient number of vaccine doses by mid-July so that they can cover about 70% of adults. “We have an issue now and we are monitoring it on a daily basis with the mutations. The faster we vaccinate, the more effective the shielding for mutations. Therefore, on this occasion, I would like to first thank the Minister again, all my fellow citizens for their responsibility and ask them to respond to the call to come and be vaccinated.

“It’s the only way we can effectively get back to normal,” he said.

“We are working hard to increase vaccine production”

Then, in a report by a journalist that the UN Secretary General spoke about the need to triple the production of vaccines in order to vaccinate the whole planet in order to gain real immunity, while she also spoke about the nationalization of the vaccine, Ms. Kyriakidou underlined that “the European For six months now, the Commission has been leading the way in helping other and non-vaccinated countries. We are working hard to increase vaccine production with companies because we are talking about a pandemic. And in a pandemic we must be able to shield everyone, not just European citizens, but everyone and that is why we are participating in COVAX together with the World Health Organization, so that we can supply all countries as soon as possible. It is a huge effort and I believe that with the pace we are moving now, we will be able to have more help for other countries. “

Asked about the need for a third tranche, the EU Health Commissioner noted that two weeks ago she signed a new contract with BioNTech / Pfizer to supply 1.8 billion tranches by the end of 2021, 2022 and in 2023, so that we are prepared for the possibility of a next dose, but also doses that are adapted to mutations. He said that similar agreements are expected to be made with other companies. “The vaccination strategy – and now the treatment regimen strategy – is what has ensured us, so that all countries, all Member States, young and old, have access to vaccines right together. This also means European solidarity “, said Ms. Kyriakidou.

As of May 30, a total of 595,906 vaccinations had been given (67.7 doses per 100 inhabitants). 52.3% have been vaccinated with the first dose of the vaccine (386,710 people) and 28.3% have completed their vaccination regimen (209,196 people).