Statement by the Minister of Health Mr. Konstantinos Ioannou at the press conference on the National Vaccination Plan against COVID-19:
The purpose of today's press conference is to inform you about the progress of the vaccination program in Cyprus, which is in full swing.
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, which in the majority of them are understandable and in any case legitimate, day by day the number of citizens who trust the vaccine and recognize that it is essentially the most effective tool to deal with the pandemic.
The national vaccination program of Cyprus is progressing rapidly with undiminished interest at all ages:
- As of yesterday, with the opening of the Portal for people aged 18-21, The first round of appointments has been 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.
- The following days we will move forward again with the opening of the Portal for all ages, starting with 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 2 is at an advanced stageη dose of 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. To enable the parallel processing of appointments, vaccinations will be performed on Sunday, under the coordination of the Director General of the Ministry and with the significant help of volunteer health professionals.
- At the same time vaccination with AstraZeneca vaccines in the offices of Personal Physicians for ages over 20 years is also progressing, 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 1η dose of 65% of the population is feasible within the time horizon we have set for the end of June, after until yesterday 45,2% had received 1η dose of the vaccine (334,258 people), and 15,5% completed their vaccination regimen (114,476 people). The wall of immunity is being built at a rapid pace, so that as soon as possible we shield our health and return to a functional daily life.
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 of cases in older ages, while the positive results of this hierarchy are recorded in our hospitals, where the average age of patients has decreased significantly.
The statistics reflect the reality: A reduction in the average age means a reduction in the average number of days that patients need to be hospitalized, as well as a reduction in the chances of admission to an Intensive Care Unit and death. At the age of 70 and over, with vaccination coverage at 85%, the incidence rate is extremely low, with the median age of patients hovering close to 60 in recent weeks.
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 already had vaccinated. We achieved it stabilization of the number of cases and relying on the continued observance of personal protection measures, we hope to see further improvement of the epidemiological picture.
As a result of the highly encouraging picture, the choice of our strategy for targeted intervention in the community through conducting increased tests, a strategy that allowed us to continuous surveillance of the epidemiological picture, but also him timely detection of positive events, the their restriction and the immediate tracking of their contacts. Breaking the transmission chain with early 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 no discounts were given on the provision of medical care to any of our fellow human beings.
As the vaccination process progresses, the tests will be replaced by the vaccination, as those who have completed at least 3 weeks of vaccination are now exempt from the obligation to perform a diagnostic test in the workplace or other indoor activities where the risk of spread is high. This strategy is being followed by other European countries that have been in lockdown since last November and are now timidly trying to open up.
In this ordeal we are going through, I have been honest with you and through you honest with the citizens. In an unprecedented situation that we 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 prioritized human life as the highest priority, especially the vulnerable groups of the population and we managed to get here. Through our strategy based on increased community-based diagnostic testing, inhalation, and collaboration with the vast majority of the world, we were 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 lowest positions in the EU in number of deaths. After all, that was our goal from the beginning.
I do not want to tire you with other numbers and statistics. But it is a fact that Cyprus has the 2ο lower mortality rate from the disease Covid-19 in the EU. This "hard marker" as it is called by epidemiologists, is the most decisive and representative for evaluating the management of a pandemic.
In conclusion, I would like 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 rewarded.