April 24, 2024

Athens News

News in English from Greece

Vaccine incentives that are already in effect

The incentives for the vaccinated, which are already in effect, are the exemption of employees from self-examination and the cancellation of their quarantine in case of coming into contact with an infected person.

The only defense against Delta mutations – vaccination, which was announced yesterday by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at a press conference after the summit in Brussels. With the number of vaccinations declining recently, the Prime Minister’s return to the discussion about additional incentives for vaccinated people aims to increase vaccination rates due to fears of the spread of the Delta mutation in society. She, according to epidemiological experts, will prevail in the country by the end of August.

Given that this mutation “affects” mainly the young and unvaccinated, it is expected that next week the government, according to the Prime Minister himself, will make new announcements about “incentives for vaccination.”

We remind you that the incentives are already in place, as vaccinated workers are exempt from self-testing and quarantine in case of contact with an infected person, and movement to the islands is free. The aforementioned incentives are expected to be extended, however the final decisions have not yet been “enshrined in law,” which is likely to take place over the weekend.

According to preliminary information, the following proposals are on the government’s table:

Increase in the occupancy of closed premises (offices) for companies whose personnel are vaccinated. This measure automatically excludes unvaccinated people from many activities. As you know, the general dismissal of people who refuse to be vaccinated from the companies where they have worked to date has begun. Another motivation that can be activated is the participation of unvaccinated people in mass events, such as concerts, only by showing a rapid test or molecular test, which, of course, burdens their pockets. The government believes that once vaccinations are available for all age groups, self-testing should be gradually replaced by more reliable and faster molecular tests, as self-testing was one of the first tools to safely open up a country’s economy. In the same context, workers who refuse to be vaccinated should take a rapid test once or twice a week. Finally, another measure that is being considered and mainly concerns young people is, by US standards, holding some sort of lottery or “gift” that concerns young people. Another incentive that is thought to be most likely to be announced is the priority given to those vaccinated when entering stadiums.

The general philosophy of introducing “incentives” is that, starting next week, it will be much easier for the vaccinated to live than the unvaccinated, who will not be excluded from the activity, but will carry it out with much greater difficulty.

The implications of “citizens’ lack of awareness of vaccination” in the future could be enormous, EODY President Panagiotis Arkumaneas said yesterday. When asked if there is a possibility of “closing the economy” again, the expert replied that local isolation could be seen in some areas. “It’s wrong to be able to get vaccinated and not do it!” He said.

Youth Campaign
At the same time, the government is directly focused on launching the campaign in the context of a conviction that will affect young people and will spread mainly on social media. The campaign will inform about vaccination and invite people 18-35 years old to get vaccinated, because mutation “D” has been proven to be 60% more infectious and more likely to affect young people.





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