Health minister: Coronavirus vaccination will not be mandatory

Vaccination against coronavirus – when it becomes available – will not be mandatory, but “strongly recommended,” Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias says.

The minister added that vulnerable segments of the population, the old and the seriously sick, will have priority, although he denied there will be a problem with the availability of vaccines.

“Who are they? Our older fellow citizens and vulnerable groups fulfilling the conditions to be vaccinated as a priority,” Kikilias told TV station Skai Saturday.

“There is now question of vaccine sufficiency and there is no mandatory vaccination, but a strong recommendation,” he added.

In case of a second wave of the pandemic, the state will take whatever measures necessary to protect those most vulnerable to the disease.

He mentioned examples such as those over-65 needing to send an SMS or fill a form before venturing outside their homes, a measure applicable to the whole population at the height of the quarantine measures back in Spring.