Coronavirus: First jabs reach 78.6%, fully vaccinated 74.2%

A total of 78.6 per cent of the adult population has received the first dose of an anti-coronavirus jab, the health ministry announced on Wednesday, falling short of its target of vaccinating at least 80 per cent of the adult population by the end of August.

In a written statement with the latest vaccination figures, the health ministry said that as of August 31, some 74.2 per cent of adults had completed their vaccination, while less just short of 79 per cent received the first dose.

Third doses are also likley to be rolled out, initially for older age groups and the vulnerable.

Marking one million vaccine doses in Cyprus at the beginning of the month, Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantelas was hopeful that by the end of August the vaccination percentage would reach 82 per cent for the first jab.

As part of the measures implemented to boost the national vaccination programme, the ministry is operating free walk-in vaccination centres in all the districts. Non-Gesy beneficiaries can also get vaccinated at the centres on Fridays.

According to the ministry, since the beginning of their operation on July 15 and August 3, a total of 43,690 vaccine doses were administered at the walk-in centres across the island.

Cyprus also expanded the vaccination to children aged 12 years and older, who are administered mRNA vaccines.

So far, the vaccination coverage for teenagers aged 16 to 17 stands at 36.4 per cent, with 29 per cent of them having received both doses.

Meanwhile, 18.2 per cent of children aged 12 to 15 have also received at least one jab, while 5.8 per cent completed their vaccination against Covid-19.

For young adults aged 18 to 19, vaccination stands at 48.6 per cent, while 60.4 per cent of those aged 20 to 29 have also received at least one jab.

The coverage is higher in older age groups, counting 70.8 per cent of those aged 30 to 39, 87.5 per cent for the 40 to 49 age group, while coverage drops to 82.8 per cent in the 50 to 59 age group.

For those aged 60 to 69, the coverage is at 88.8 per cent with the percentage climbing higher, at 97 per cent for those aged 70 to 79, and 97.6 per cent for people aged 80 and older.

Vaccination coverage differs per district, with Paphos maintaining the highest vaccination coverage in recent months, with 89.6 per cent of its population having received at least one dose of the vaccine as of August 31.

The district is followed by Famagusta with 87.3 per cent, Nicosia with 78 per cent and Limassol with 77.1 per cent. Larnaca has the lowest vaccination coverage with 72.7 per cent.