Cyprus will start coronavirus vaccinations on Sunday in keeping with the rest of Europe, senior health official Olga Kalakouta confirmed on Tuesday.
“Following the much-anticipated approval of the Pfzizer vaccine by the European Medicines Agency, it is only a matter of time before the flight with the first batch of vaccines arrives. As everything indicates, the arrival of the first batch will take place the day after Christmas,” she said.
The vaccinations will be carried out in vaccination centres, she said, with the goal to carry them out in all districts simultaneously. Health workers will be the first to be targeted.
Consent forms have already been sent to the centres, she added. The owners are required to ask their staff if they consent to a vaccination and let the ministry know how many vaccines they need for their employees.
Although Kalakouta said she does not know who will be the first to be vaccinated in Cyprus, as this is something which will be announced by the health ministry in the coming days, reports claim President Nicos Anastasiades may be the one.
What has been announced officially is that he will be among the first, with director of the president’s press office Victoras Papadopoulos confirming the President’s vaccination will be filmed and streamed live.
As Papadopoulos explained, this move is symbolic and aims to send the message that vaccination is the means to fight the pandemic, but also to allay concerns regarding possible side effects of vaccines.