Greece is prepared to begin vaccinating children aged 12-15 against the coronavirus, Marios Themistokleous, Greek Secretary General for Primary Health Care, assured the public during a press conference on Tuesday.
The European Union’s medicines regulator, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), approved the use of the Pfizer jab for the age group on Friday after extensive testing proved it was safe and effective among children aged 12-15.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US approved the use of the shot in children belonging to that age group in early May.
Themistokleos noted on Tuesday that while the country has all the mechanisms in place to begin vaccinating children aged 12-15, Greece’s National Vaccination Committee has yet to provide specific instructions or guidelines regarding the vaccine’s distribution.
Additionally, Themistokleos stressed that vaccinations for the age group would “progress just like with the other age groups, according to availability.”
More than five million coronavirus vaccines have now been given to people living in Greece.
Greece records 1,886 coronavirus cases, 27 deaths
Greece recorded 1,886 new cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday, which marks 879 more instances of the virus than the 1,007 cases recorded on Monday.
Just five of Tuesday’s total cases were identified during routine Covid-19 testing of tourists at the country’s borders.
Additionally, there are 482 patients with Covid-19 on ventilators on Tuesday, which is one more than the 481 patients undergoing the invasive treatment in the country yesterday, Monday.
Tragically, 27 people suffering from the coronavirus passed away in the country over the past 24-hour period, which represents 14 fewer than those who died with the virus on Monday.
959 cases of Covid-19 diagnosed in Attica alone; 169 in Thessaloniki
Of the 1,886 new coronavirus cases recorded in Greece in the past 24 hours, 959 were located in Attica, home to the Greek capital city of Athens.
Instances of the virus were particularly high in the center of the city itself, where 294 cases of Covid-19 were identified Tuesday.
Tests showed that in Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, a total of 169 cases of Covid-19 had been diagnosed in the last 24 hours.
Over 400,000 total coronavirus cases in Greece
Since the beginning of the pandemic, a total of 404,163 cases of Covid-19 have been recorded in the country, including all those who have recovered from the virus.
Of the cases diagnosed in Greece in the past seven days, just 29 are associated with foreign travel and 1,880 have been linked to contact with a known case.
Of the 482 patients intubated currently, 86.9% are over the age of 70 or suffer from preexisting conditions. Their average age is 67.
On Tuesday alone, 173 people with the coronavirus were admitted to hospitals in Greece.
Additionally, a total of 2,442 patients have been discharged from ICUs around the country since the beginning of the pandemic.
The 27 new deaths recorded on Tuesday bring the total number of fatalities in the country to 12,122; 95.1% of those who have passed away with the virus were over the age of 70 or suffered from underlying health issues.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
