In a press conference organized today, Monday, January 4, 2021, by the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy and the Ministry of Health, was presented the Vaccination Portal for COVID-19, through which the appointments for the administration of both the first and the second dose of vaccines will be arranged.
According to the Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy (ECDC), the portal offers a holistic approach to the optimal management of the vaccination program, providing immediate and valid information to both the citizens and the competent authorities regarding the implementation process.
Specifically, the software, which was developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the Department of Informatics Services of the Ministry of Health, with NCR as its contractor, contains three "portals": the Vaccination Portal, which concerns citizens and through which will the appointments are arranged, the Portal of Vaccination Centers and the Data Portal that will operate at the central level (Ministry of Health).
Through the software, the Ministry of Health will be able to monitor the progress of the program, as well as the availability and stocks of vaccines, in order to ensure the timely ordering of new quantities to fully meet the needs of the population. It is noted that the development and use of this software fully ensures the protection of users' personal data.
Regarding the appointment, the citizens will have the opportunity to choose the Vaccination Center of their choice, having access to the appointment calendar of each Center, while through the portal an electronic vaccination certificate will be issued and the appointment for the 2nd installment will be arranged. The person will receive a text message on his mobile phone with the details of his appointment, while an SMS will be sent as a reminder of the appointment the day before.
The appointment can be arranged by the person or his representative, following one of the following ways:
A. Citizens who are beneficiaries and have completed their registration at GeSY, will be able to arrange vaccination appointments through the Beneficiary Portal of GESS, either for themselves or for other beneficiaries, provided that they know relevant information concerning the beneficiary. The possibility is provided to the Beneficiaries who have a user account in the Beneficiary Portal and have proceeded to link their user account with the beneficiary file.
B. Citizens who are not registered in the OAY Software but are beneficiaries of GESS can proceed by registering in GESS to automatically become beneficiaries in the Vaccination Program. If, however, they do not wish to subscribe to the OAY software program, they can proceed with the procedure described in Section (C).
The software also provides the ability to arrange appointments for beneficiaries by their Personal Physicians (PI) and / or their support staff.
C. Citizens who are not registered in the software of GESS, should submit to the Ministry of Health, duly completed the Citizen Registration Application Form that are not registered in the GESS at the Vaccination Portal for COVID-19, which is posted on its website Ministry of Health and in the specially designed Vaccine Press and Information Office website COVID-19. The form must be submitted together with a copy of the Identity Card, the Registration Card of the Alien or other Identification Document and a copy of the Hospital Identity Card, in case he / she holds one. The documents can be sent to the Ministry of Health, electronically at: covidvac@moh.gov.cy, by post to the Ministry of Health at the address Prodromou 1 and Cheilonos 17, 1449, Nicosia or delivered by hand to the Department of Nursing Identities, Ministry of Health, Prodromou 1 and Cheilonos 17, Nicosia.
The Ministry of Health, after carrying out the relevant control, with the approval of the request, will activate the possibility of registration of the applicant in the Vaccination Portal. COVID-19. The citizen will be informed accordingly to the decision of the Ministry of Health to approve or not his request, in order to proceed through the Electronic Vaccination Portal for COVID-19 to arrange an appointment for the vaccination at a Vaccination Center, day and time of his choice.
It is clarified that at this stage access for registration to the vaccination program through the Vaccination Beneficiary Portal can only be had by the members of the group that falls into the second phase of the vaccination program, ie people aged 80 and over.
For support purposes, citizens will be able to contact the following call centers, as follows:
• 1474 - For information regarding the Vaccination Program
• 17000 - For information of a technical nature during an appointment from the Gesy Portal.
For an appointment, in case despite the above the citizen continues to face difficulties, he will be able to contact the Center 1474.
The Deputy Director of Medical Services and Public Health Dr. Olga Kalakouta, stressed that, for the purposes of protection of citizens and public health, the Vaccination Centers will comply with all the necessary measures of protection and prevention by the COVID-19. "Once again, the Ministry of Health calls on the population to respond to their call for vaccination against COVID-19"as the most effective measure to protect ourselves and our loved ones from infection and its possible negative effects," he added.
The Undersecretary, moreover, in closing, stressed that vaccination is not just an investment in science but an investment in life. "The future depends on each of us individually," he said, adding that "we expect the vaccine to be the basis for building the necessary 'immune wall' that will shield our state and society, and allow us to return." gradually to normalcy ". Finally, he warmly thanked all those involved for both the good cooperation and the excellent result achieved, within very tight schedules.
