Cyprus’ inoculation rollout has exceeded initial goals, as the online vaccination portal will open to teenagers for the first time.
On Tuesday, the healthy ministry’s portal will open to 18 to 21 year olds, covering all age groups currently eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Having achieved its initial goals of vaccinating people aged 45 and over by early May, health authorities have worked their way down reaching people in their early 20s this week.
“In the near future, older people who have not scheduled or missed an appointment will be given the opportunity to do so again, with the available vaccines,” the Health Ministry said in an announcement on Friday.
This upcoming weekend, the portal will open for the 50-54s on Saturday, May 15, and for the 55-60 age group on Sunday, May 16.
According to the ministry, as of May 13, 42.5% of those eligible for a vaccine (314,163 people) had received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 13.3% of the population (98,605 people) have been fully vaccinated.
By Thursday, 412,768 jabs were administered, corresponding to 46.9 doses per 100 inhabitants, placing Cyprus third among EU member states.
Having reached the goals set to achieve substantial coverage among those aged 45 and over by early May, the health ministry will complete the process of offering everyone aged 18 and over the chance to book a vaccine appointment.
The ministry noted that vaccinations have had a positive impact on the epidemiological picture, contributing towards lowered COVID-19 cases and a lower positivity rate among vaccinated age groups, as well as a fall in hospital admissions.
After offering younger people the chance to get vaccinated, the rollout will be climbing the age ladder once again to offer people in older age groups the opportunity to get vaccinated if they missed out previously.
The schedule:
The Health Ministry noted that students who are currently abroad, and are eligible to book an appointment on Tuesday, but will not be able to make their appointment, are urged to wait until June when they will be given another chance to get a vaccination appointment.
As was the case until now, people eligible to book appointments will be offered all vaccines available at the time.
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry said that people over 20 interested to get vaccinated can do so through their general practitioners, who are administrating the AstraZeneca jab.
