Covid team to meet, but no cause for stricter measures
The government’s covid-19 scientific advisory team is to convene on August 29 to review the current indicators in the face of a recent rise in virus cases.
Health Minister Popi Kanari announced the development on Wednesday but sought to caution that “there is no justification for any stricter measures related to covid-19 at this time”.
She added they will discuss at the meeting whether the need for rapid tests at in-patient care at hospitals and nursing homes is to be continued.
“There is no justification for any stricter measures at the moment – we are monitoring the subvariant ‘Eris’ and are on alert for the new variant identified in Canda, Israel and the UK,” she added.
The health minister hastened to add that “there is no reason for concern” as she referred to the latest statements from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the European Centre for the Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) on the matter.
As for vaccines, Kanari said that they have already updated the vaccination programme for the coming year: “vaccines will begin arriving by the end of September through to the beginning of November – both for the new covid-19 and influenza vaccine.”
The minister concluded her statements by saying that the WHO recommends both these vaccines be administered together, with those over 60 and in vulnerable groups a priority.
The combined vaccines will be available at the vaccination centres, while the influenza vaccine by itself is to be available from GPs as it has been previously.