Announcement of the Ministry of Health for the lack of influenza A vaccines

The Ministry of Health, with its announcement, responds to the statements of the President of the Cyprus Pediatric Society on the issue of the distribution of Influenza A vaccines.

This announcement:

Following the morning statements of the President of the Cyprus Pediatric Society on the show Breakfast Schedule of the Third Program of RIK, regarding the issue of the availability and adequacy of the Influenza A vaccines, and because in recent days there has been an attempt to misinform the public with various interventions in the media, the Ministry of Health for the last time points out the following:

1. The quantities and the coverage of the population needs have not been determined by the Ministry of Health, but by the National Advisory Committee for Vaccinations, in which the Pediatric Society of Cyprus can present its positions, if it participates with its representative. That being said, as the President of the PEC should have known, the National Vaccination Advisory Committee recommended that 80,000 vaccines be ordered, as was the quantity used in 2019. However, the Ministry proceeded to order 100,000 vaccines with provision for order. an additional 35,000 vaccines if needed in January 2020. In short, if the recommendations of the Commission, which includes the PEC, were followed to the letter, we would have only 80,000 vaccines available instead of 135,000.

2. Due to the need arising from the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of Health has exercised its right to order an additional 35,000 vaccines and efforts are being made to provide more vaccine doses to cover a larger part of the population. However, as it should be understood, this is not possible due to the global shortage that is observed. Regarding the fact that the vaccines are received in installments, it is pointed out that no country in the world has received the entire quantity in one batch, precisely because of the shortages, but also the effort to ensure the gradual vaccination of the population in all countries. .

3. Regarding the report repeated by the President of PEK that the vaccination should not be performed by the Personal Doctors, but in the Vaccination Centers as it happened in the previous years, not referring of course to the fact that there was no General Health System nor the institution of the Personal Physician, it is only noted that the role of the Personal Physician is to know the clinical condition of his beneficiaries and through the interpersonal relationship he develops with them to be able to assess the need or not of immediate vaccination.

Finally, the issue of how to be vaccinated for Influenza A, as well as how to dispose of the vaccines, has been discussed many and exhaustively at the level of the National Vaccination Committee with the participation of representatives of all involved, but also in public. The Ministry of Health considers that the continuous resumption of the issue is meaningless and does not intend to return in the future.

Source: Sigmalive