FILE PHOTO: People make their way in an alley as Greece banned music in restaurants and bars and imposed a nighttime curfew on the island of Mykonos, Greece, July 18, 2021. REUTERS/Louiza Vradi
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece will make a COVID-19 booster vaccine available to vulnerable groups from Tuesday, Health Ministry experts said, hoping to curb a rise in Delta variant infections.
Authorities would start making booster jab appointments available from Tuesday to persons with compromised immune systems and individuals over the age of 60.
“It can be administered 6-8 months after the second dose,” said Maria Theodoridou, chair of the Greek National Vaccination Committee.
“For the immuno-compromised it can be given even 4 weeks after the second dose.”
In August, the medical advisers recommended a booster shot with mRNA vaccines for vulnerable groups with underlying conditions.
The country reported 1,608 new COVID-19 infections and 51 related deaths on Monday, bringing the total number of infections since the pandemic began to 616,765 and the death toll to 14,223.
Greece, with a population of 11 million people, has so far administered more than 11.8 million first shots. About 56% of the population is fully vaccinated. It hopes to increase that figure to up to 70 percent in an attempt to build wide immunity against the virus.
(Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas; Editing by Dan Grebler)
