The scientific team will be suggesting to the Ministry of Health that it orders the vaccine Oxford University is working on, member of the team, professor of microbiology and molecular virology at the Medical School of the University of Cyprus, Petros Karayiannis has said, noting that the specific vaccine was safe and effective.

He said the team would suggest Cyprus purchased a quantity of the vaccine initially for the vulnerable groups and the elderly. Karayiannis noted that 200,000 would be enough and that for the whole population they would need 900,000.

Karayiannis furthermore pointed out that the English had ordered 100 million doses and that the vaccine would be available in early November, and three weeks later would be exported. He expressed hope that the Ministry of Health would place an order.

The professor said the company involved was AstraZeneca, which is well-known and appears to be cooperating with Brazil and Russia to produce the vaccine, meaning that the production could be in larger quantities.

Karayiannis explained that the effects of this vaccine were two-fold. On one hand it created antibodies and on the other it activated part of the immune system called cellular immunity, which killed off infected cells, with minimal side-effects.