Covid-19: 24,308 Cases Confirmed in Greece

Greece confirmed 19,731 new Covid-19 infections and 103 deaths associated with the virus in the last 24 hours, the National Public Health Organization (EODY) said on Tuesday.

A total of 19,731 cases were recorded in the country the day before, Monday, and 119 people died with the virus.

Since the pandemic began, Greece has confirmed a total of 1,965,719 Covid-19 infections. Of the cases recorded in the last seven days, 441 infections are related to travel from abroad and 2,229 to other confirmed cases.

The 103 deaths associated with the coronavirus recorded in the last 24 hours bring the total number of people who have died with the virus in Greece to 24,308. Of those who passed away, 95.1 percent had an underlying condition and/or were aged 70 or over.

78.86% of intubated patients with Covid-19 in Greece unvaccinated

A total of 563 coronavirus patients are on ventilators in hospitals on Tuesday, compared to the 576 undergoing the treatment the day before.

Their median age is 66 and 83.8 percent have an underlying condition and/or are aged 70 or over. Of the total, 444 (78.47%) are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated and 119 (21.14%) are fully vaccinated. Another 4,048 patients have been discharged from ICUs in Greece since the pandemic began.

In addition, 454 Covid-19 patients were admitted to hospitals in the last 24 hours. The average admission of patients with Covid-19 to hospitals over the last 7 days was 436.

The median age of those with new infections is 35 years, while the median age of the deceased is 78.

Pfizer seeks vaccine approval for children under five

The Pfizer corporation, the first pharmaceutical firm to develop an authorized vaccine against the coronavirus, is expected to ask the United States Food and Drug Administration to authorize its inoculation for children under the age of 5.

At a time when Pfizer already has produced a vaccine targeted specifically against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, with plans to put it before the FDA in March, the  under-5 cohort is still without an authorized or approved vaccine.

However, Pfizer and its partnering firm, BioNTech, are expected to ask the FDA to authorize their original coronavirus vaccine for this age group — which includes all children as young as 6 months — as a two-dose regimen.

Meanwhile, they are studying the efficacy of administering three doses of the shot to this age group as well.

The New York Times reports that individuals familiar with the process say that federal regulators are chomping at the bit to review the scientists’ findings so that the shots can be authorized on an emergency basis as soon as the end of this month.

Time is of course of the essence while this youngest age cohort awaits the vaccine — fully thirteen months after the first adults began receiving the Pfizer product in December of 2020.