Booster shots open to some 50-59-year-olds

People aged 50-59 years old and with an underlying health condition that puts them in the high-risk category will be able to book an appointment for their Covid-19 booster shot on the emvolio.gov.gr platform as of this Sunday afternoon, the general secretary for primary healthcare, Marios Themistokleous, told Thursday’s public briefing on the pandemic.

Six months need to have elapsed from the completion of the initial vaccination against Covid-19, health authorities note.

Themistokleous also said that mobile units are still being dispatched to remote parts of the country to offer shots to people who may have trouble getting to a hospital or center that provides them.

Many parts of northern Greece have struggled to contain the pandemic since it hit Greece in 2020 and are also struggling with vaccine hesitancy, as evidenced by the rising number of cases in the port city of Thessaloniki, despite it having been at the epicenter of last autumn’s wave.

According to Vana Papaevangelou, a pediatrician and infectious disease expert on the committee advising the government on coronavirus policy, health authorities estimate that there are currently at least 3,000 active Covid-19 cases in the city of Thessaloniki out of a nationwide total of roughly 20,000. She also sounded the alarm for Larissa in central Greece, which is now believed to have at least 1,200 active cases.

Speaking at the same public briefing, Papaevangelou warned of an increase in infections among elderly people in areas with low vaccination coverage.

Alternate Health Minister Mina Gaga also recommended that attendance at children’s parties be limited to single figures. 

Authorities announced 2,249 new cases of coronavirus and 30 fatalities yesterday; 335 patients remain intubated in intensive care units.