Filenews 17 March 2022 - by Marilena Panagi
The last week of March or the first week of April is expected to begin the administration of a 4th dose to people over 70 years of age, immunosuppressed, health professionals and workers in nursing homes and closed facilities, since the relevant proposal which will include the decision of the National Advisory Committee on Vaccinations will be put before the Council of Ministers for approval on the 23rd of the month.
At the same time, it is expected that a proposal will be put forward for the start of the administration of the 3rd dose of the vaccine to adolescents aged 12-17, a procedure which was also decided on Monday by the Committee responsible for vaccinations.
In her statements, the general director of the Ministry of Health and head of the Vaccination Committee, Christina Yiannaki, expressed optimism that "there will be a response as several parents were calling to know when a booster dose will be made available for teenagers" and noted that "it is in everyone's interest since the risk of hospital admissions is significantly reduced".
In the meantime, and despite the fact that in the last twenty-four hours there has been an increase in the number of cases and in the number of hospitalized adults and children with coronavirus, the Council of Ministers decided yesterday further small relaxations regarding school trips and overnight stays of nursing homes in their homes. Specifically, and according to the relevant announcement, the Council of Ministers decided to extend the "Test to stay" program to kindergartens, pre-primary schools and special schools for children aged 3 years and over. The measure will take effect from Monday. The measure will be optional.
Also, as of Monday, the ban on overnight stays outside the occupant facility in nursing homes and closed facilities is lifted. Upon their return, residents should present a rapid antigen test (Rapid test) of the same day based on the guidelines of the Ministry of Health and the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare. Finally, the ban on school excursions, which will take place on the basis of the guidelines of the Ministry of Health, is lifted.
The Advisory Scientific Committee is expected to have a meeting with the Minister of Health Michalis Hadjipantelas next Monday in order to re-evaluate the epidemiological data, as they will have been formed by then.
On the agenda at the moment there are issues concerning the differentiation of SafePass requirements, but also the change in the way rapid antigen detection tests are performed in the population. Of course, the development will depend on the epidemiological picture that Cyprus will present at this particular moment, since yesterday and the day before yesterday and the day before yesterday a relatively significant increase in the number of hospitalized patients was recorded (from 101 on Sunday, they reached 119 yesterday) while the number of children infected with the coronavirus and admitted to the Makarios Hospital for hospitalization seems to be increased.
As the director of the paediatric department, Abraham Elias, said in a statement, "in recent days there has been a significant increase in admissions, with the youngest infant hospitalized being one month old and the oldest child of five years old." "Usually children have fever and anorexia and because of their young age, they need hospitalization. Cases are also recorded with the multi-inflammatory MIS-C syndrome, which is considered a complication of the coronavirus," he said.
According to information provided by "F", the increase in the number of children requiring hospitalization began to be recorded by the CSO during the first week of March and has continued since then. At the beginning of the month the number of hospitalized children was 7 and yesterday it had reached 12, one of the highest on record since the start of the pandemic.
