Covid: The decisions from today's meeting

Source: Kathimerini Cyprus

Michael Hadjipantelas' meeting with the members of the Advisory Committee at the Ministry of Health has concluded. According to the Minister of Health's statements, an increase in the number of cases has been confirmed, and data on hospitalizations were analyzed during the meeting to create a clearer picture.

According to his statements, it was decided to push the vaccination program primarily for people over the age of 60, with a focus on closed structures and nursing homes. In the same vein, priority will be given to promoting the program in mountain communities, which he said had previously been carried out in Pachna and Paleochori.

There was a lapse or delay in the administration of antiviral drugs, prompting the decision to send an information sheet to doctors on their use as well as in the awareness section to advise those over 60 to seek vaccination as soon as possible to avoid an increase in hospitalization.

Here are the details of the announcement by Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantelas and epidemiologists George Nicolopoulos:

Hello. I am delighted to greet you. We had a meeting today at the Ministry of Health with all of the Scientific Advisory Committee's scientists. The scientists were given the opportunity to receive more data from the Ministry of Health regarding hospitalizations and case numbers. The Scientific Advisory Committee had an excellent meeting, and we agreed on the following steps:  We will focus on promoting vaccination in people over 60, particularly those in closed facilities and nursing homes, so the Ministry of Health will work with the Vaccination Committee to promote vaccination in closed facilities and nursing homes, and we will also begin the vaccination program in mountain communities, where we had a lot of success last year, particularly in villages like Pachna and Paleochori.  We also agreed to send a newsletter to GPs about antiviral drugs, as it appears that these antiviral drugs are not being given to patients in a timely manner, as well as to inform GPs that patients over 60 and vulnerable patients should be vaccinated with the fourth dose so that we do not have any more hospitalizations. Those were the main points we discussed today. The Ministry of Health monitors the situation on a daily basis; we cannot be complacent; we must all adhere to hygiene regulations and receive the fourth dose of vaccination. Thank you very much.

[This article was translated from its Greek original]