Government sticking to timeline for suspending unvaccinated health workers
The Greek government is forging ahead with its plan to suspend unvaccinated healthcare professionals as of September 1, its spokesman said on Monday, adding that those sent on unpaid leave may not get their job back once they have been inoculated against the coronavirus.
“The law will be applied in full. There will also be a refund of the salary that was paid in advance at the end of August, while it is not certain that those who are suspended will return to the same positions, even if they choose to get vaccinated, given that the nature, needs and organization of the national healthcare system will have changed,” Giannis Oikonomou said during a press briefing.
He also warned that the next few weeks will be “extremely crucial for evolution of the pandemic.”
“It is encouraging that since mid-August there has been an increasing trend in new [vaccination] appointments, but as experts point out, in order to build the wall of immunity, we need at least an additional one million vaccinated people,” he said.
