Filenews 5 August 2021
Authorities are also preparing in Cyprus for the possibility of administering a third or supportive dose of vaccine mainly to elderly people and people belonging to vulnerable groups of the population.
According to information provided by "F", the matter has already been discussed, informally, between Health Minister Michalis Hatzipantella and members of the Scientific Advisory Committee. As the Minister of Health himself revealed in his statements, there was also an initial discussion with the Deputy Minister for Innovation, so that the Vaccination Portal could begin to be prepared, so as not to delay the whole process when the European Medicines Agency (EMA) gives the green light.
In particular, asked to say what Cyprus intends to do on the issue of the administration of a third dose of vaccine, given that countries within the EU are now announcing that they will proceed with the booster dose, Mr Hatzipantellas referred to yesterday's meeting with the Deputy Minister for Innovation, "at which this issue was discussed. We want to be ready when we get the green light from the European Union. Since we are a member of the EU we must respect its rules. When the EU gives us the green light, then we are ready."
Asked if the Government is ready to take emergency measures if the hospital admittances to the Intensive Care Units reach the maximum number available, the Health Minister reiterated that "the situation is assessed daily and we take whatever measures we need to take. Depending on the problems, we find solutions."
At the same time, the Minister of Health described yesterday as "important", stressing the completion of 1 million vaccinations. Mr. Hatzipandelas, accompanied by the Director General of the Ministry of Health Dr. Christina Giannakis and Ann. Director of Nursing Services Evagoras Tambouris, visited the Vaccination Center of the State Fair.
"The fact that we have exceeded 1 million doses is a very important one," he said. ''vaccines are a sign that people trust the experts, the vaccination program and the Government," he said, adding that it "gives the message that very soon we will exceed the target of 82% vaccinated."
Asked if there were any thoughts of revising the teams that can conduct rapid testing at the expense of the State, to include other groups such as soldiers, the Minister replied that the situation is being closely and continuously monitored, and where solutions need to be found, the Ministry is taking action in this respect.
Asked if the Health System is able to meet the needs of all patients regardless of the condition, the Health Minister pointed out that with the help of the Director-General 228 patients have been referred to the private sector and 27 patients have been transferred to Intensive Care Units.
In response to the same question, the Director-General of the Ministry of Health said that every day a great effort is made to make it possible to transfer patients of other ailments to the private sector, so that public hospitals can nurse patients with COVID-19.
2,551 juvenile appointments for vaccination
From Monday, August 3, 2021 until yesterday at 11 a.m., a total of 5,366 vaccination appointments were arranged through the Vaccination Portal for people 12 years of age and older, according to the health ministry. Of these, 2,551 are for minors (12-17 years) and 2,815 for the adult population.
Based on yesterday's data, the vaccination rate with the 1st dose until yesterday was 74.5% and the fully vaccinated reached 66.6%.
New contract for the supply of vaccines signed by the Commission and NOVAVAX
The signing of another new contract for the supply of 100 + 100 million doses of vaccines by NOVAVAX was announced by the President of the Commission and the competent Commissioner Stella Kyriakidou.
In particular, Commissioner Kyriakidou stated that "vaccinations in the EU are progressing and we are closer to our target of 70% of fully vaccinated citizens by the end of the summer".
As he noted "our new agreement with Novavax expands our vaccine portfolio to include another protein-based vaccine, a platform that looks promising in clinical trials. We will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that our vaccines continue to reach citizens in Europe and around the world to end the pandemic as soon as possible."
In detail, the Commission yesterday approved the seventh pre-purchase agreement (APA) with a pharmaceutical company to ensure access to a possible COVID-19 vaccine in the fourth quarter of 2021 and 2022. Novavax is a biotechnology company that develops next-generation vaccines for serious infectious diseases. Its COVID-19 vaccine is already under rolling evaluation by ema in view of a possible purchase authorisation.
Today's contract complements an already broad portfolio of vaccines to be produced in Europe, including contracts with AstraZeneca, Sanofi-GSK, Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, BioNtech-Pfizer, CureVac, Moderna and integrated exploratory talks with Valneva. It represents another key step towards ensuring that Europe is well prepared to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that "as new variants of coronavirus spread in Europe and around the world, this new contract with a company that is already testing its vaccine successfully against these variants is an additional guarantee to protect our population. It further strengthens our broad vaccine portfolio, for the benefit of Europeans and our partners worldwide."
From cruises to tickets to incentives
The list of incentives provided by companies and organisations to promote vaccination has been updated and is posted on the www.pio.gov.cy/coronavirus website, as well as on the www.besafe.gov.cy.
The list of incentives from companies/organisations:
Royal Caribbean Cruises: 20 double cabins, for a 7-day cruise to the Greek islands.
IKEA: 100 €50 gift cards for product purchases from IKEA and IKEA e-shop.
Cyprus Football Federation: 2,025 season tickets (1,255 for First Division Teams, 270 for Second Division Teams and 500 for The Cyprus National)
Cyta: 5,000 gifts of €20 for Cytashop
Bank of Cyprus: 2,000 gift cards worth €50 for PUBLIC stores, through Bank of Cyprus cards
CTC Group of Companies: 400 €50 vouchers, for purchases from Superhome Center DIY stores, CTC Automotive Ltd and Hermes Department Stores Plc
Epic: Up to 5GB of data free (mobile Internet) to 5,000 existing or new subscribers
Cablenet : 20% discount on mobile phone packages
Easyslim Ltd: 2,000 €260 wellness and fitness programs
To date, the process of submitting interest in the incentives provided by the following companies/organisations has been completed:
1. ZARA (100 €50 gift cards for ZARA stores): 5,863 people registered an interest.
2. Tus Airways (100 air tickets to Greece): 4,610 people registered an interest.
3. THOK (100 annual theatre subscriptions): 1,098 people registered an interest.
4. Cyprus Airways (150 air tickets): 6,062 people registered.
Interested parties will receive information from their respective company or organisation.
