Vaccination platform for ages 65-69 opens on April 2; read also on allergies, thrombosis

Greece proceeds with fast pace with the inoculation of citizens and the online platform where citizens aged 65-69 can book an appointment for vaccination against Covid-19 will open on Friday, April 2, 2021, Greece’s health authorities said on Monday. Speaking at the Live Briefing on Monday,health authorities revealed also that citizens with serious allergies will have the option to arrange an appointment at a hospital and not at a regular vaccination center. At the some time, they spoke about the thrombosis risk when AstraZeneca vaccine is being used.

Citizens are entitled to Covid-19 vaccine only if they have social security number AMKA.

The online platform to book an appointment is here at emvolio.gov.gr, in Greek only.

Health Secretary General for Primary Health Care Marios Themistokleous said more than 26,000 vaccinations were carried out on Monday, reaching 1,630,000 inoculations total in Greece.

This figure is equivalent to a 10.14% of Greek citizens having received one dose of the vaccine.

There are over 1,000 vaccination centers across the country, he added.

Themistokleous said that those who suffer from serious allergies will be given the option to declare it, so they can be vaccinated at hospitals rather than regular inoculation centers.

Some 1.5 million vaccinations are planned for the month of April, while at least 1.1 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine will be delivered soon. Furthermore, 450,000 doses from AstraZeneca and 100,000 from Moderna are expected, while Johnson & Johnson will deliver 1.2 million doses of their single-shot vaccine by June.

Head of the Greek National Vaccination Committee Maria Theodoridou drew attention to a “considerable number of reluctant citizens who fear allergic reactions, a fear which also feeds from the fact that some doctors are themselves hesitant too, leading to cancellations of vaccination appointments.”

Serious anaphylactic reactions are the only reason to not receive the vaccine, Theodoridou said, howver, she added that common allergies do not fall in this category of warning.

Only 28 cases of reaction against the AstraZeneca vaccine have been recorded in the 17 million doses administered globally thus far, she noted.

Concerning the AstraZeneca vaccine, she said that Greece aligned itself with the European Medicines Agency and the World Health Organization and thus it continues to inoculate citizens with it, while keeping a close eye on all the latest scientific findings.

She said possible symptoms which may be considered suspicious are chest and abdominal pain and headache – that may occur 7 to 14 days after the fact of vaccination. She clarified, however, that a history of thrombosis is not a reason enough to not have it done.