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ATHENS — The Greek authorities is dealing with a backlash from medical doctors and opposition events after dozens of senior authorities officers acquired a coronavirus vaccine earlier than most well being care employees.
The authorities’s vaccination plan, which was launched final week, states that “priority staff critical for the government functions” can be included within the first precedence group for getting the vaccine, along with medical doctors, nurses and people dwelling in nursing homes. The authorities printed an preliminary listing of 45 officers who can be included on this group, together with Cabinet ministers, common secretaries, the heads of the well being businesses, and the leaders of the Greek armed forces.
All of those officers and some extra are among the many 471 individuals who have already acquired the Pfizer/BioNTech shot since Sunday when this system started, a lot of whom are comparatively younger, of their 50s. On Tuesday, authorities spokesman Stelios Petsas mentioned the precedence listing will in the end embody 126 authorities officers, who will get the shot by the top of January.
“By the end of January, we will receive 429,000 doses and about 215,000 of our fellow citizens will be vaccinated,” mentioned Petsas. “Among those are 126 people in the front line, absolutely crucial for the functioning of the government.”
This revelation prompted criticism from medical doctors and opposition celebration politicians.
Dr. Panagiotis Papanikolaou, secretary of the Federation of Hospital Doctors’ Associations of Greece, criticized how at Sotiria hospital — which he mentioned was alleged to be the nation’s flagship hospital in battling the coronavirus — scheduled vaccinations for dozens of well being employees had been postponed.
“An equal variety of ministers obtained vaccinated of their place. SHAME,” Papanikolaou wrote on Twitter.
Sotiria’s hospital supervisor Sokratis Mitsiadis mentioned in an announcement that 56 of its well being employees had been vaccinated on Tuesday out of 61 scheduled.
“Due to a mistake within the planning, these 5 can be vaccinated tomorrow and the method will proceed usually,” Mitsiadis mentioned.
Alexis Tsipras, the previous prime minister and chief of the primary opposition celebration Syriza, blasted on Facebook how “ministers and common secretaries lined up for a selfie with the vaccine, at a time when there aren’t sufficient even for medical doctors and nurses on the entrance line and whereas residents should wait till the top of summer time for his or her flip to be vaccinated.” He added: “This will not be a symbolic gesture however political favors.”
A senior authorities official mentioned the choice to offer precedence to those officers was completed with absolute transparency and a brand new listing can be printed with all of the officers who can be vaccinated by the top of the month.
“I don’t like seeing young people getting vaccinated no matter how high they are in government or scientific positions,” Elias Mossialos, a professor of well being coverage on the London School of Economics who has been appointed Greece’s consultant in worldwide talks on tackling the coronavirus, mentioned on native TV. “We need to give the vaccines to vulnerable groups, who are more likely to be hospitalized if they get sick.”
Greece acquired some 9,750 vaccines on Saturday and this system obtained underway on Sunday with the vaccination of a nurse, a resident of a nursing home, President Katerina Sakellaropoulou and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
So far only one individual has developed a minor allergic response, based on senior well being ministry official Marios Themistokleous.
All opposition celebration leaders both have already acquired or will within the coming days get the vaccine in an effort to point out their assist for a vaccination consciousness marketing campaign. Only Kyriakos Velopoulos, chief of the smaller opposition celebration Hellenic Solution, has refused to get it, saying he does not need to change into a “guinea pig.”
A second batch of 83,850 doses of the COVID-19 jab arrived in Athens Tuesday morning.
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