Cyprus vax website down as EMA deliberates

Officials in the Republic of Cyprus are looking into allegations and rumors that citizens were attempting to cheat the system to book a vaccine appointment, with the registration website down on Wednesday and EMA expecting to update states on AstraZeneca.

According to Reuters, the European Medicines Agency expects to hold a briefing on the possible side effects of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday at 5pm, Cypriot time.

Experts from the European drug authority have reviewed to what extent some cases of blood clotting in adults who had recently received the AstraZeneca vaccine may be linked to the injections.

While Cypriot officials said they did not expect any drastic change in the vaccination plan using the AstraZeneca jabs, the registration system for vaccination appointments remained inoperable the entire morning on Wednesday.

A government statement alluded to a technical glitch, citing an overload in the system as many citizens were standing by to book an appointment for those aged 61 and above.

It has also been reported that many online users were employing the help of others, friends and family members, in order to get a better chance at booking a slot before appointments could run out.

Other reports pointed to allegations in the past when the platform had opened before the scheduled time to allow people to get a early access.

Innovation deputy minister Kyriacos Kokkinos told state radio in the morning that he expected his team to be able to avoid technical glitches, citing earlier mishaps, while also vowing to look into the allegations whether the website had opened earlier to allow certain individuals to register before being shut down.