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At the meeting of the National Vaccination Committee it was unanimously decided to administer the AstraZeneca vaccine to citizens up to 64 years old, confirming the report of iefimerida.gr.
The meeting was followed by statements from the President of the National Vaccination Committee Maria Theodoridou and the Secretary General of Primary Health Care Marios Themistokleous.
“The National Vaccination Committee has reviewed in detail all available data on the safety and efficency of the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine This follows the recent approval of the vaccine by the European Medicines Agency for use for citizens aged 18 years and older, with a view to its availability in Greece in the near future “, said Maria Theodoridou
“The Commission considers that, according to the data available to date, the AstraZeneca vaccine has very good safety characteristics.
Particularly:
a) It is safe, well tolerated by people taking it and the side effects are mostly mild and local.
b) It protects almost all those vaccinated from a serious illness and from the need to be admitted to the hospital, while it protects a large percentage of those vaccinated from a mild illness.
c) It generates high antibody levels in people of all ages, including the elderly, and in addition causes strong stimulation of cellular immunity, which is an essential part of immunization.
d) It appears to reduce virulence in vaccinated individuals who may be infected by their environment and therefore helps to limit the spread of the virus.
Regarding the protection, and the effectiveness, from serious and mild disease. It is noted that the number of elderly people who are currently included in the published studies is relatively small, so there is no strong scientific evidence for older people. However, based on the data available on the immunity of the vaccine at all ages, it is estimated that protection is likely to affect older people as well.
Regarding the interval between the first and second dose of the vaccine, according to the available data, the interval of 12 weeks creates higher levels of final protection compared to shorter intervals.
In conclusion:
– The National Vaccination Committee recommends vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine for people aged 18 to 64 years.
– The National Vaccination Committee recommends a period of 12 weeks between the first and second dose of the vaccine.
“These recommendations may be amended in the near future, depending on the latest data”, concluded Mrs. Theodoridou.
Themistocleous: Vaccinations start after February 12
“We have the decision of the National Vaccination Committee, which gives us the green light to carry out vaccinations with the AstraZeneca vaccine in our country. In Greece, as in other European Union countries, the AstraZeneca vaccine will be used for those aged 18-64
Before I start with the operational procedure, I would like to state very clearly that it is a vaccine of exceptional effectiveness. The only reason for this decision not to vaccinate over 65’s is that there is insufficient data on this age, which are expected in the coming days. Let me remind you that very large countries, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, have already vaccinated thousands of people and people over the age of 65. Since we will have the effectiveness of the vaccine in these groups by the end of the month, then we are expected to change this decision as well.
Operationally, we will develop two parallel systems.
One system is what we have at the moment and next to it we will open a second one that will be vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine, with the first age category that we will open for these vaccinations will be 60-64.
The two systems will not intersect. That is, a citizen over the age of 80 will be able to make an appointment only at specific vaccination centers, while citizens aged 60-64 will be able to make an appointment only at the vaccination centers with AstraZeneca vaccines and not at the vaccination centers of the other companies .
Vaccinations with the AstraZeneca vaccine are expected to begin after 12 February. The platform for making an appoinment will open in the coming days.
The specific dates will be announced on Monday, when the delivery plan has been finalized by the company. “Operationally, we are fully prepared for the implementation of this strategy”, noted in his statements the General Secretary of Primary Health Care, Marios Themistokleous.
Source HMERA
