ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece’s vaccinations committee said on Monday it recommended inoculating teenagers aged between 15 and 17 as part of efforts to increase the country’s protection against the coronavirus and its variants.
As things stand, those under 18 years are not being vaccinated. The committee’s recommendation needs to be approved by the government before it becomes policy.
“The national vaccinations committee has a positive view on the voluntary vaccination of teenagers 15 to 17 years old, provided parental approval is granted,” Maria Theodoridou, head of the committee, told reporters.
On Monday, health authorities reported 801 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infections and six deaths, bringing total infections to 426,963 since the first case was detected in February last year and the death toll to 12,743.
“This summer is being overshadowed by the Delta variant, which can be highly contagious in a very short exposure time,” Theodoridou said. “We believe (vaccinating teenagers) is a safe step towards normality,” she said.
As of Monday, 38.2% of Greece’s eligible population was fully vaccinated while 47.7% had had one dose, officials said.
(Reporting by George Georgiopoulos; Editing by Nick Macfie)
