With the common characteristics of pandemic and fires, the president of the National Commission for Vaccination, Maria Theodoridou, started the briefing, stressing that they appear suddenly and threaten people's lives.

He recalled the recommendation to vaccinate children aged 12-15 years against covid-19, both for their own protection and that of their family members. He stressed that children with underlying diseases are at risk from the virus and should be vaccinated immediately.

He reiterated the safety of vaccines and explained that the best advisor for parents is the paediatrician, who will advise them and has administered all the vaccines to their children, which he said they should not forget.

He also spoke about the possibility of a booster dose of covid-19 vaccine, which has been the subject of much discussion recently. He referred to studies involving specific groups of people where it appears that after 6 months the level of antibodies decreases.

The WHO recalled that fighting the pandemic requires vaccination in every corner of the world, calling for a pause of the third dose for two months to vaccinate 10% of low-income populations.

The third dose should be given, according to the WHO, to specific categories of citizens and on the basis of scientific evidence.

He explained the categories of citizens belonging to special categories that should receive the third booster dose of the vaccine.

The opinion on the third dose, he said, will be based on the epidemiological data of the country and clarified that there are no data for a third dose in the general population.

M. Themistocleous: 11 million vaccinations against covid-19 exceeded today

More than 11 million vaccinations were administered today, said the Secretary General of Primary Health Care, Marios Themistocleous, during the briefing on the National Plan of vaccination coverage for COVID-19.

Today 30,000 vaccinations are expected to be administered. More than 5.850.000 citizens have been vaccinated with at least one dose, representing 55.6% of the general population and 65% of the adult population.

In addition, more than 5. 515,000 citizens have completed vaccination, representing 52.5% in the general population and 61.6% in the adult population.

Appointments for the week average around 23,000 on a daily basis, while in the last 10 days 72,000 citizens have made new appointments, i.e. for the first instalment.

Vaccination rates by age group

For the age group 85 and above, 72.1% have already been vaccinated with at least one dose and if we include appointments, it amounts to 72.3%.

For the 80-84 age group, 72.3% have already been vaccinated and if we include the appointments, it amounts to 72.5%.

For the 75-79 age group, 84.4% have already been vaccinated and if we include the appointments, the figure is 84.5%.

For the 70-74 age group, 78.7% have already been vaccinated and if we include the appointments, the figure is 78.9%.

For the 65-69 age group, 80.1% have already been vaccinated and if we include appointments, it amounts to 80.2%.

For the 60-64 age group, 75.9% have already been vaccinated and if we include the appointments, it rises to 76.2%.

For the 55-59 age group, 72.8% have already been vaccinated and if we include the appointments, the figure rises to 73.1%.

For the 50-54 age group, 69.3% have already been vaccinated and if we include the appointments, it amounts to 69.7%.

For the 45-49 age group, 66.1% have already been vaccinated and if we include the appointments, it amounts to 66.6%.

For the 40-44 age group, 61% has already been vaccinated and if we include appointments, it amounts to 61.6%.

For the 35-39 age group, 53.6% have already been vaccinated and if we include the appointments, it rises to 54.2%.

For the 30-34 age group, 51.7% have already been vaccinated and if we include appointments, this rises to 52.5%.

For the 25-29 age group, 50% has already been vaccinated and if we include the appointments it amounts to 50.9%.

For the 18-24 age group, 39.4% have already been vaccinated with at least one dose and if we include appointments, this rises to 40.5%.

In the 15-17 age group, 11.1% has already been vaccinated with at least one dose, and if we count the appointments, it amounts to 12.6%.

The 12-14 age group 3% has been vaccinated and if appointments are included the figure rises to 4%.

Regarding home vaccination, 5,274 citizens have registered for the programme and 4,000 citizens have already been vaccinated.

In addition, more than 10,000 citizens have been vaccinated in remote areas. At the same time, there are also special actions to vaccinate against covid-19 for specific population groups, such as Roma, homeless people and migrants.