Cyprus Mail 14 October 2021 - by Jonathan Shkurko
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| An elderly woman receives a vaccine |
The cabinet will likely decide to lower the age for Covid booster jabs on Friday, amid signs the majority view on the state’s epidemiological team is that third doses be administered to those aged 60 and above.
Currently, booster jabs are being offered to those aged 65 and over as well as to vulnerable groups and health professionals.
The government has asked its team of experts to submit recommendations with cabinet expected to take a decision at its Friday meeting.
Epidemiologist and government advisor Maria Koliou told CyBC on Thursday that her recommendation was that booster jabs be administered to people of 60 years of age and above.
This appears to be the majority view among experts but differs from that expressed by another government advisor, Petros Karayiannis, professor of microbiology and molecular virology at the Medical School of the University of Nicosia, who on Tuesday said he was in favour of giving the third dose of the vaccine to people of 50 years of age and above.
“We simply have no evidence, even just as far as Cyprus is concerned, that people under 60 are at high risk of getting seriously sick and ending up hospitalised without the booster shot, unless they are immunosuppressed” Koliou said.
Of several transmission chains detected by the contact tracing team, Koliou said the situation is not worrying, as most clusters have already been identified in environments, “which are easy to control.”
“However, the slight rise in the positivity rate within the community, which went from 0.2 to 0.3 per cent should be a wake-up call for everyone, especially considering that the cold season is fast approaching, meaning we will all be more vulnerable,” she said.
“Strict implementation of the SafePass is more important than ever, as is vaccination coverage. People for whom receiving the jab is contraindicated are only under one per cent of the population, so almost everyone should receive the vaccine,” Koliou said.
Meanwhile, the health ministry urged all health professionals in nursing homes to get vaccinated, adding that the transmission of the virus is faster in places where vulnerable people reside.
According to figures up to October 12, the booster shot has been administered to 26,097 people. The vaccination rate among adults is at 81.5 per cent for the first shot and 79 per cent for full vaccination, the health ministry added.
Among teens aged 16-17, first shots have been administered to 41.5 per cent and 38.8 per cent have completed their vaccination. For the 12 to 15 age group, corresponding rates are 27.4 per cent and 24.6 per cent.
