Filenews 13 May 2021 by Marlena Panagi
In private pharmacies to ensure the necessary negative result in a crown test, citizens now resort to the queues and hassle of free sampling points operating on a daily basis under the Ministry of Health's programme.
Since the beginning of the week and with the entry into force of SafePass, the president of the Cyprus Pharmaceutical Association, Eleni Piera, said in a statement, "we have seen increased demand for rapid testing in private pharmacies", despite the fact, as she said, "that our members have been offering this service through the Ministry of Health for about two months".
With regard to the cost of providing sampling from the pharmacy, although the cap is €20, prices range between €10-15, while there are also some pharmacies that provide the test at prices below €10 and as noted by the president of the PPH, pharmacies, following the agreement reached last March with the Ministry of Health , provide the necessary certificate of negative result, and positive results are reported, in accordance with the procedure followed by private clinical laboratories, to the competent epidemiological surveillance unit.
Therefore, citizens who undergo rapid antigen diagnostic tests in private pharmacies that provide this service also provide the certificate they need for SafePass or other professional purposes.
The President of the PPH recommended that citizens first contact the private pharmacy they intend to visit, since not all pharmacists provide this service.
In the meantime, the Cyprus Pharmaceutical Association is also claiming a role in the vaccination process and according to Mrs Piera, the issue is under discussion with the Ministry of Health although until now, it seems that the dialogue is limited to the voluntary assistance of pharmacists in the existing vaccination centres of the Ministry of Health, without yet mentioning the extension of vaccinations to private pharmacies.
"There are staffing problems in the Vaccination Centres and pharmacists are invited to volunteer until the vaccination process in pharmacies is agreed. The procedure must be drawn up, the appointments must be arranged, the vaccines must be received, the results must be electronically registered, the pharmacist's compensation has not yet been agreed", he explained, expressing tonight that 'I do not see it happening immediately, but I believe it will be promoted immediately, at least I have this information'.
It is recalled that the PPH had in the past raised in several cases a question of granting pharmacists the right to vaccinate citizens and the influenza vaccine, in accordance with the standards of other European countries. This issue was also raised before the Health Committee of the House, but to no avail since the whole effort had been impacted by the strong reaction of the Cyprus Medical Association.
39.6% of the population received the first dose of
Cyprus ranks fourth among the Member States of the European Union in terms of vaccine doses per 100 inhabitants, with the proportion of citizens vaccinated with the first dose reaching 39.6% (293,180). However, the proportion of people who have completed their vaccination regimen is 12.4% i.e. 91,459 people.
The Vaccination Portal is expected to work tomorrow to arrange appointments for people aged 22 to 24, while at the weekend citizens aged 50-55 will be given a second chance on Saturday and 56-58 year olds on Sunday.
With regard to vaccination coverage of citizens by age group according to official data:
- People over 80 years of age have been vaccinated by 84.8%
- People between 70-79 years of age have been vaccinated by 81.3%
Lower rates are recorded in the 60-69 age group in which 63.2% have been vaccinated but also in the next younger age group since vaccination coverage in 50-55 year olds is 46.4% and 40-49 year olds at 43.8%.
A debate is under way on the range of age groups for each opening of the Vaccination Portal in order to save time. The ideal scenario would be to open the Portal every decade, depending of course on the availability of vaccines but also on the technical capabilities of the Vaccination Portal.
However, the increase in the rate of vaccination coverage for people aged 40-60 is also considered necessary by the Organization of State Health Services since most people infected with the crown and in need of hospitalization belong to this age group.
