Filenews 6 October 2021 - by Marilena Panagi
The Government finally changed one of the provisions of SafePass and from October 18, citizens who have received only the first dose of vaccine will have to undergo tests to circulate.
In fact, according to information provided by "F", the Council of Ministers had taken the relevant decision on the proposal of the Minister of Health Michalis Hadjipantelas from September 21st, with the date of its entry into force on the 30th of the month. This decision, however, had not been announced and was not implemented on 1 October, as originally set, but the Ministry of Health announced yesterday that this new measure will apply from 18 October.
Perhaps yesterday's announcement is not at all unrelated to the mass vaccination event planned by the Ministry of Health for Sunday in Limassol, aiming at "attracting" citizens, since at the moment, there are more than 11,000 people who have received the first dose for some time and never came for the second dose after they had already secured the SafePass.
In his proposal to the Council of Ministers on September 21, the Minister of Health invoked the reluctance of several thousand citizens to proceed with their full vaccination and the fact that the percentage of those vaccinated with one dose who are infected by the virus is gradually increasing significantly.
In essence, the ministry of health in its announcement yesterday said that "during the audit carried out, it emerged from the databases that about 11,000 people have been vaccinated with the 1st dose, but have not subsequently proceeded to vaccinate with the 2nd dose. Vaccination with only one dose, according to scientific data, offers lower coverage, while not protecting equally effectively from mutations of the virus. It was therefore deemed necessary to make the necessary amendments to the condition for the issuance of SafePass relating to vaccination."
Specifically, "from 18 October, only fully vaccinated individuals will be able to issue SafePass (vaccination with both vaccine doses or with janssen's single-dose vaccine) and therefore, citizens who received the 1st dose are encouraged and the time required for the 2nd dose (3 weeks for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has elapsed, 4 weeks for Moderna's vaccine and 8 weeks for AstraZeneca's vaccine), to proceed by October 17 to vaccination at the walk-in vaccination centers operating nationwide."
Continuing in its announcement, the Ministry of Health stresses that "those people who do not wish to proceed with the reception of the 2nd dose, from October 18 onwards, for SafePass purposes, should possess a negative result from a PCR test or rapid antigen test with a validity of 72 hours. People who do not complete their vaccination regimen after the lapse of the days required between the 1st and 2nd doses, should carry out a PCR test or rapid antigen test at their own expense in private pharmacies or clinical laboratories."
With this in mind, the requirements for a SafePass issue from October 18 will be:
► With a certificate of recovery from COVID-19 for the last 6 months.
► With a negative test certificate (PCR or rapid antigen test) with a validity of 72 hours.
► With a certificate of full vaccination.
It is reported that people who belong to the groups for which it has been decided to administer a third dose are not affected since they are covered by the provisions of SafePass whether or not they proceed to their booster vaccination.
For those over 75, the Gate opens today
Out of a total of 23,800 people over the age of 80 who are eligible for a third dose of the vaccine, around 2,100 people arranged their appointment through the Vaccination Portal during the first two days of its operation. In total, since the start of the booster vaccination, the third dose was received by 13,844 people, of which 3500 are people belonging to the vulnerable groups of the population and health professionals and 2,660 workers and elderly people in nursing homes. In total, around 7,500 elderly people have received the third dose of the vaccine through the Centres for Free Attendance.
According to the health ministry, the Vaccination Portal will operate today for people over the age of 75.
It is noted that "the 3rd dose is administered in the Vaccination Centres all over Cyprus, either after arranging an appointment through the Vaccination Portal, or through the free-to-go vaccination centres without prior appointment scheduling. Walk-ins for 3rd dose vaccination are open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m." [For Paphos the walk-in centre is Paphos General Hospital]
PEK supports vaccination
The Cyprus Paediatric Society (PEK) unreservedly supports the vaccination of children over 12 years of age against the COVID-19 disease, based on an extensive study of all available scientific data, stressed the President of the Scientific Society Michalis Anastasiades, during a press conference, while at the same time declaring the launch of the informative campaign of PEK for the vaccination of children against the Covid-19 disease.
As mentioned, the campaign is organized by PEK with the primary objective "to inform the public about the necessity of immediate vaccination of children over 12 years of age against the COVID-19 disease. The main concern of PEK is the protection of the children themselves and the widest possible vaccination coverage of our population, with the sole vision of gradually exiting the uncertainty, the danger and the restrictions brought about by the pandemic.
Mr. Anastasiades presented the informative material that has been prepared in the context of the campaign, stating that it "is posted in a separate section on the website of PEK www.child.org.cy, on PEK's Facebook page and on the Youtube channel he maintains. He invited the public to visit and study the material."
He also recalled that the Cyprus Paediatric Society is at the disposal of the public, having opened its channels in recent years, in an effort to initiate communication and interaction with the public.
