Coronavirus: FM gets Covid shot, urges others to do likewise

Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides said vaccinations will be decisive for tackling the pandemic on the island after he received his first AstraZeneca shot on Monday, in keeping with other ministers in a bid to built trust in the vaccine.

In his statements to the Cyprus News Agency after his vaccination at the State Fair in Engomi, Nicosia, he reiterated the need to abide by the relevant health protocols as the country is at a “critical point”.

Cyprus recorded 852 coronavirus cases on Sunday, the second highest daily tally recorded since the pandemic outbreak on the island began last March.

The stable increase in the number of people who received the vaccine will positively contribute to tackling Covid-19, Christodoulides said.

The majority of ministers received the first dose of the AstraZeneca jab last Thursday, when Christodoulides was participating in a triparty meeting with the foreign ministers of Greece and Lebanon in Athens.

The majority of jabs received by Cyprus have been the AstraZeneca or Vaxzevria shots, however people became suspicious of the jab after the European Medicines Agency said there might be a possible link between it and the formation of rare blood clots.

Since the announcement, health ministry officials have been campaigning towards boosting people’s confidence in the vaccine, saying the benefits outnumber the rare side effects.

Vaxzevria was authorised by the European Medicines Agency in January.