Greece Mandates Vaccination For People Over 60 - Prime Minister

ATHENS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2021) Greece is making COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for people over 60 and will punish noncompliance with a monthly 100 Euros ($113.6) fine in an effort to head off the spread of the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the council of ministers earlier in the day, the prime minister expressed concern over the new strain, saying that the country would rely on vaccination and personal protective equipment instead of lockdowns. At the same time, he noted that out of 580,000 of those over 60, only 60,000 received the vaccine in November.

"And those who are over 60 are mostly the ones who are being treated and, unfortunately, many of them die. We are currently focusing on those citizens' protection.

That is why their vaccination becomes mandatory from now on," Mitsotakis said.

According to the prime minister, the unvaccinated senior citizens will have to receive the first shot before January 16 and they will be given priority by the country's vaccination initiative.

"Otherwise, we will impose an administrative fine of 100 euros every month. And, per the law, this money will be collected in a special fund to finance our hospitals," Mitsotakis added.

Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) identified the new strain as one of concern, as its high number of mutations possibly makes it more transmissible and dangerous. The WHO has dubbed it Omicron, the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet.