Minister of Health of Cyprus: “The goal for vaccination of 65% of the population by the end of June is achievable”

The national vaccination program of Cyprus is progressing rapidly, as announced on Tuesday (18/5) by the Minister of Health Of Cyprus Konstantinos Ioannou stating that the interest remains undiminished at all ages.

«The great response from citizens raises expectations for a faster exit from uncertainty. Despite the initial reservations and concerns of some of our fellow citizens, most of whom are understandable and in any case legitimate, the number of people who trust the vaccine is increasing day by day and recognize that it is essentially the most effective tool for dealing with the pandemic.“, Stressed the Minister of Health of Cyprus Konstantinos Ioannou, who gave a press conference on the course of the vaccination program of Cyprus, which is in full swing.

Vaccinations “opened” for people aged 18-21

As early as yesterday, with the opening of the portal for people aged 18-21, the first round of appointment arrangements was completed. All beneficiaries were given the opportunity, at least once, to make an appointment for vaccination, through the portal. Cyprus is one of the few countries in the EU and globally that from the beginning gave the possibility of setting the appointment by the beneficiary himself in a Vaccination Center, date and time of his wish.

“In the coming days we will proceed again with the opening of the portal for all ages, starting from the ages who had the opportunity to schedule an appointment only once and for whatever reason did not succeed. I am pleased to announce that the process for rescheduling appointments for the 2nd installment is at an advanced stage. AstraZeneca vaccine. According to the information we have from the contractor company and the Ministry of Innovation, the sending of text messages to the beneficiaries is expected to begin the day after tomorrow, Thursday. “In order to enable the parallel processing of appointments, vaccinations will be carried out on Sunday, under the coordination of the general director of the ministry and with the significant help of volunteer health professionals”, noted as the Athenian News Agency points out.

«At the same time, the vaccination with AstraZeneca vaccines is progressing in the surgeries of the Personal Physicians for ages over 20 years, in an effort to speed up the vaccination process. Indicatively, to date, more than 320 Personal Doctors are participating in the program and more than 26,000 doses have been sent.

The goal we set for vaccination with at least the 1st dose of 65% of the population is achievable within the time horizon we have set for the end of June, since until yesterday 45.2% had received the 1st dose of the vaccine (334,258 people) , and 15.5% completed their vaccination schedule (114,476 people). The wall of immunity is being built at a fast pace, so that as soon as possible we can shield our health and return to a functional daily life “, underlined the Cypriot Minister of Health.

“Vaccination reduces infection by about 95% and the development of a serious disease is now recorded in Cyprus”

“The evolution of the vaccination shield of the population has begun to show the desired results in Cyprus as well. The fact that vaccination reduces by about 95% the infection and the development of a serious disease is now recorded in our country. From the beginning, the main target of our vaccination program was the vulnerable groups, the bedridden and the elderly, ie the people who are most vulnerable to the virus and from whom resulted in deaths last December and January. Having put these people as a top priority group, we took care of their timely vaccination. We shielded the nursing homes, through the community nursing network, we vaccinated our bedridden fellow human beings in their homes, we gave priority through the Gate to our elderly. “This has led to a vertical reduction in cases at older ages, while the positive results of this hierarchy are also recorded in our hospitals, where the average age of patients has dropped significantly,” he said.

“Statistics reflect the reality: A reduction in the average age means a reduction in the average number of days patients need to be hospitalized, as well as a reduction in the chances of being admitted to an Intensive Care Unit and dying. “At the age of 70 and over, with vaccination coverage at 85%, the incidence rate is extremely low, while the median age of patients is close to 60 in recent weeks,” he said.

“At the same time, we observe from the data of recent weeks that the harsh measures taken during the Easter period, a difficult but beneficial decision I must admit, gave the necessary time to increase vaccination coverage, but also to acquire immunity in those who had already vaccinated. We have succeeded in stabilizing the number of cases and, relying on the continuation of personal protection measures, we hope to see a further improvement in the epidemiological picture.

As a result of the highly encouraging picture, the choice of our strategy for targeted intervention in the community was confirmed through conducting increased tests, a strategy that allowed us to continuously monitor the epidemiological picture, but also to identify positive cases in time, limit them and immediate tracking their contacts. By breaking the transmission chain with the timely diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of our virus-positive fellow human beings, we have greatly reduced hospital admissions. In this way we managed to have a real picture of the diaspora in the community and to intervene in time, in order to avoid the threat of collapse of the Health System, as happened in many countries. “And I want to emphasize that if there is one thing we should be proud of, it is that the Health System withstood the pressure, despite the fact that the GESS counted only a few months of life, and there were no discounts on the provision of medical care to any of our fellow human beings,” he explained.

“As the procedure progresses the tests will be replaced by vaccination”

“As the vaccination process progresses, the tests will be replaced by the vaccination, since those who have completed at least 3 weeks of vaccination are now exempt from the obligation to perform a diagnostic test in workplaces or other indoor activities where the risk of dispersal is high. “This strategy is being followed by other European countries that have been on lockdown since last November and are now timidly trying to open it,” said Konstantinos Ioannou.

Concluding, Mr. Ioannou pointed out: “In this many months of ordeal we are going through, I was honest with you and through you honest with the citizens. In an unprecedented situation that we have all experienced, despite any individual mistakes, the results recorded by Cyprus allow us to be proud because as a country, as a people and as a State, we have prioritized human life as the highest priority, especially of vulnerable groups. and we managed to get here. Through our strategy based on enhanced community-based diagnostics, tracking and collaboration with the vast majority of the world, we have been able to tackle the pandemic with fewer days in the EU under a strict universal lockdown, but above all We were able to reduce our losses and keep Cyprus at the bottom of the EU in terms of deaths. After all, that was our goal from the beginning.

I do not want to tire you with other numbers and statistics. It is a fact that Cyprus has the 2nd lowest mortality rate from covid disease in the EU. This “hard index” as it is called by epidemiologists, is the most decisive and representative for the evaluation of the management of a pandemic.

I want to thank the citizens once again for their cooperation and effort. Continuing to adhere to individual protection measures until vaccinations are completed will help us maintain this image. I also thank the health professionals and all the scientists, the volunteers, the thousands of people involved in this titanic endeavor. I am sure that everyone’s efforts and sacrifices will be justified and will be rewarded “.