Coronavirus: new vaccination centre opens at state fair

A new vaccination centre opened at the state fair in Nicosia on Friday as Cyprus ramps up its vaccination drive in a race to contain a surge of new coronavirus cases.

Deputy head of medical services Evagoras Tambouris, who was there for the opening, said that so far, a total of 229,471 vaccinations have been administered with the programme moving steadily to younger ages so that a little after Easter it will be the turn of those aged 35.

“The latest studies show that vaccinations against Covid-19 protect the population from getting ill and significantly reduce hospital admissions. The vaccine is the only means that will help us go back to work, to outings, trips and gatherings with family and friends.”

“The ministry’s objective is for more than 60 per cent of the population to be vaccinated in the first six months,” he said.

The new vaccination centre was opened in light of ‘considerable quantities’ of vaccines that have been delivered to Cyprus and which will the speediest possible vaccination of the population, he said.

“It is in order to move down the ages and to intensify vaccinations so as to move faster,” he added.

On its first day, the new centre had 936 vaccination appointments with everything going smoothly.

In an announcement to underline the significance of vaccination, the health ministry pointed to the case of a dozen elderly care home residents. All were fully vaccinated and though testing positive for Covid-19 are asymptomatic.