New measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic, in the midst of the new Omicron variant, were announced this morning at the cabinet meeting by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

According to the Prime Minister, the vaccination for those over 60 years of age becomes mandatory with a margin for the specific age group to book its appointments for the first dose to be by January 16th. Those who are not vaccinated will pay a fine of 100 euros each month. The Prime Minister also announced that from December 6 to 12 he will distribute a self test to every adult, vaccinated and not.

Of the 580,000 unvaccinated citizens over the age of 60, only 60,000 rushed to be vaccinated in November, according to the prime minister. That is, 520,000 citizens over the age of 60 remain unvaccinated.

The analysis of the data showed that in relation to countries that have almost the same population as Greece, our country is far behind in vaccinations, especially in the most vulnerable groups of the population, led to the adoption of new measures.

The scientific and operational data that led the government to the mandatory decision:
1) 9 out of 10 deaths from COVID concern citizens 60+
2) 7 in 10 intubated patients are 60+
3) 8 out of 10 intubated are unvaccinated
4) in the last month, the increase of new appointments in the population group 60+ is only 3% compared to 5-15% in the remaining ages, while the risk is inversely proportional for this population group.
5) in countries such as Portugal and Denmark that have achieved 99% vaccination in this group the pressure on the health system and the loss of lives is up to 10 times less than in Greece

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