Filenews 1 December 2020
The data, concerning the forthcoming vaccination, for the crown in Cyprus, was published by the Ministry of Health. Vaccination is a key pillar of preventive medicine and public health and has proven its worth, Dr. Zoe Dorothea Pana said at a press conference with other members of the epidemiological team.
He added that Cyprus has so far been involved in all EU centralised procedures with regard to the supply of vaccines and that the planning of distribution on the periodic distribution of vaccines to citizens is also completed at local level.
As shown in the table below, the European Commission has concluded an agreement with 6 companies, and the ordering process with Astra Zeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer/Biontech has been completed. The ordering process with Curevac and Moderna is under way at the same time, and the process with Sanofi/Glaxo has not progressed.
Two companies have so far pledged to give the first doses of vaccines around mid to late December. If these vaccines are licensed, then after a few days the vaccines may start to be made available. With regard to quantities and the delivery plan, Cyprus is expected to receive 119,204 Astra Zeneca vaccines and 48,955 of Biontech/Pfizer in December 2020, with the completion of the receipt of quantities up to 2022.
Company Storage Life span Total Rates Delivery plan
2 doses pp
For the percentage needed for herd immunity, Dr Pana said we cannot accurately say at this stage what percentage should be covered. We want to cover the whole population if people want to be vaccinated, he said.
In response to a question about the possibility of compulsory vaccination, he said that to the best of his knowledge there has been no debate, even at European level. "The aim is to inform about what is new about vaccination and for people to understand for themselves that they should be vaccinated for both themselves and their fellow citizens," he said.
With regard to the Directives on priority vaccination, it should be noted that priority is given to:
A)Health Professionals in the private and public sectors;
B) Adults at greater risk for severe COVID-19 >65 years of age, i.e. with:
Accommodation in chronic care units
Serious heart disease
Diabetes mellitus
Chronic lung diseases
Obesity (BMI >30)
Chronic kidney disease
Cancer (up to 6 months after the end of treatment)
Diseases that cause severe immunosuppression
Haemoglobin diseases
Frontline/essential workers:
Military, military, police, security forces.
C)Workers in civil protection bodies, first responders/frontline workers
Public transport drivers
Cleaning workers
Workers in nursing homes and institutions for chronically ill people
Workers in closed structures (prisons, camps, migrants)
Workers in the food chain
In the majority of vaccines, as dr. Pana, two doses are required with the exception of one company. He said two companies say they will be ready to distribute the first amounts of vaccines by the end of the year.
With regard to the evaluation of vaccines, he said that there are three clinical studies (phase 1, phase 2 and phase 3) and that the phase 3 clinical study is important because the efficacy and safety of vaccines is studied and the results of these studies receive an opinion and authorisation from the European Medicines Agency.
There is, said Mrs Pana, the post-authorisation phase, i.e. the monitoring of vaccines, their effectiveness and safety, and she said that this will also be done in Cyprus with special software.
Pre-clinical phase Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Αpproval
Source: eyenews
