CONCERN OVER LOW VACCINATION RATE AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE - POSSIBLE SETBACK COULD HAVE CATASTROPHIC CONSEQUENCES FOR THE COUNTRY

 

26-06-2021 16:03

Concern over low vaccination rate among young people - A possible setback would have catastrophic consequences for our country

63.6% of the population have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while, 47.8% of the population have completed their vaccination, with the single-dose vaccine of Johnson & Johnson or both doses of vaccines from AstraZeneca, Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech. Despite the increase in vaccination coverage, the percentage of vaccinated people in the age groups of 18-19 and 20-29 years remains quite low. Only 27.3% of people aged 18-19 have received at least the first dose of the vaccine, while between the ages of 20-29 the vaccination coverage reached 35.1%. It is recalled that the respective percentages last week were 25.8% and 32.9%. The vaccination of the 30-39 age group is moving steadily, with the percentage being at 52.3%. In the age groups of 40-49, 50-59 and 60-69, the vaccination rate is at a very high level, having reached 72.5%, 71.6% and 81.6%, respectively. The percentage is even higher in the ages 70-79 (91.3%) and 80 years and older (91.8%). The high vaccination coverage in people over the age of 40 has led to a large reduction in the number of cases at these ages, with attention being focused on people aged 18-39 at this time. Recently, more than 75% of the positive cases detected are people under the age of 40, of which 43% are people aged 18-39, without a vaccination. Even more worrying is the fact that in hospitalizations, there is an increase in the incidence of young people, who become seriously ill and in many cases need hospitalization in Intensive Care Units or high-dependency units. The median age of patients is 54 years and more than 90% of those treated have not been vaccinated. All citizens, and particularly young people, are called on to schedule their vaccination as soon as possible, thus utilizing the weapon that science offers us to get out of the health crisis. A possible setback would have catastrophic consequences for society, workers, the economy, tourism and the entrepreneurship of our country. Full text, including details and data, in Greek, can be found here.    (EH)