Filenews 6 September 2021
Despite the decision and the start of vaccinating specific groups of people with a 3rd dose of vaccine against COVID-19, the goal of the Vaccination Program remains the initial vaccination of the entire population over the age of 12, a statement from the Ministry of Health said.
The vaccination teams that will be able to receive a priority and 3rd dose at this stage, have been determined by the Council of Ministers and concern:
- Residents and workers in nursing homes
- People over the age of 65
- Health professionals
- People in immunosuppression / with immunodeficiency
The administration of the 3rd dose based on the existing data concerns people who have completed their vaccination program with two doses (people who have been vaccinated with Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccine). Booster dose is not applied to people who have taken the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. The 3rd dose will be administered six (6) months after the completion of the vaccination of these people with the 2nd dose - i.e. six months after the administration of the 2nd dose.
An exception is people receiving immunosuppressive therapy. In these cases, the 3rd dose will be administered at least four (4) weeks after the completion of the vaccination with the 2nd dose and in such a way that it does not coincide with the time of administration of immunosuppressive therapy and according to the instructions of their attending physician.
The vaccination of people who will receive priority vaccination with a 3rd dose will be done gradually and based on the possibilities regarding the vaccination process. Vaccination may be carried out in more than one group in parallel. For each of the above groups, the procedure followed during their initial vaccination will be followed as a basic principle.
Specifically:
- Residents and employees of nursing homes: With mobile units that will visit the nursing homes after consultation with the Health Visitors responsible for each District.
- People over the age of 65: By arranging an appointment through the Vaccination Portal of the Ministry of Health. The possibility for each age will be given gradually, starting from the older ages. The time of commencement of the appointment arrangement process through the Vaccination Portal, as well as the ages that will be concerned in each case, will be announced at a later stage. As far as people aged 65 years and under are concerned, it is noted that the right to administer a 3rd dose of vaccine should be given gradually, at a later stage, after the implementation of the 1st decision of the Council of Ministers is completed, in accordance with the procedures followed in the other Member States of the European Union.
- Health professionals: By vaccination upon appointment arrangement by groups of health professionals, health infrastructure, etc. As far as health infrastructure is concerned, priority (if there is such a need) will be given to people working in hospitals or wards with COVID-19 patients, and to all ICU, TAEP and Ambulance Departments (regardless of COVID hospitalization). The administration of the 3rd dose will be done in hospitals in the same way that the initial vaccination was done.
- People with immunosuppression/immunodeficiency:
They concern the following groups of patients:
- In active therapy for solid tumours and haematological malignancies
- With a history of transplantation of solid organs taking immunosuppressive therapy
- With a history of transplantation of primordial hematopoietic organs that receive immunosuppressive therapy
- People with hereditary immunodeficiency
- People with HIV Infection/AIDS
- People in immunosuppressive therapy including biological agents. As far as cortisone is concerned, it concerns people who have received or are receiving a total dose of >10 mg of prednisone/day (=8 mg of methylprednisolone) for 1 month in the last six months.
The vaccination of the people mentioned in point (4) above will be done gradually, after a telephone appointment arrangement.
