There is no question of taking measures for vaccinated people and, if necessary, other measures will be taken only for those who have not been vaccinated, the Minister of Health Thanos Plevris clarified to SKAI. The Minister of Health added that at the moment there is no discussion for rapid test in the unvaccinated for supermarkets or basic necessities in general.
“We have taken specific measures that 90% concern non-vaccinated people, not punitive, but because they are in danger,” he clarified.
“When 73% of adults are vaccinated there will be no lockdown. The NSS is not monothematic at the moment, it serves both COVID and non COVID incidents and that is why it is under pressure. “We are at the peak of the fourth wave, the whole of Europe is under pressure and we are ahead in relation to other countries.”
As the minister pointed out, at least in the last 10 days there has been a stabilization of cases, but at a high level, and this means that there is pressure on hospitalizations and deaths that follow the peak in cases. “We expect flattening and bending for decongestion. For the next 10 to 15 days we will have pressure on the NSS, but at the moment, even with a delay, there is a serious attendance of our fellow citizens and for the first and third dose, over 1 million people, we go to a fairly good vaccination coverage ” . “We would like more attendance of our more than 60 fellow citizens in the first installment,” he admitted, while focusing on the importance of the third installment.
Referring to the data of EODY, Mr. Plevris noted that since the beginning of the year in cases we are 85% unvaccinated 15% vaccinated, in ICU 94% unvaccinated 6% vaccinated and in deaths 90% unvaccinated 10% vaccinated. “A month ago we were 64-65% of the adult population in vaccinations, now we are 73.5%,” he stressed.
Surgeries
On the occasion of the letter sent to the Governors of the Health Regions by the Deputy Minister of Health Mina Gag, in which she calls on the hospitals, public and private, to reduce regular surgeries by up to 80%, the Minister of Health assured that must be done and no one will be endangered,
“Unlike last year when we were in Lockdown and there was a ban, now the administrations are given the opportunity based on the schedule and the treatments they have – if they decide – to limit surgeries. If, for example, in Attica there is still no pressure, there is no change in the surgeries. In areas that are under pressure, not binding, purely in the hospital administration based on the occupied beds that have either simple or ICU they are given the opportunity in the planned surgeries to reduce. “So it does not apply to regular surgeries where there is no pressure, it does not apply to emergencies,” he clarified.
“In exceptional cases, in specific hospitals that are under pressure, we are in collaboration with private clinics to be covered and done there. Surgeries will not go back. “All emergency surgeries are performed in some hospitals, especially in specific areas, which are under a lot of pressure anyway. They have limited surgeries and give them in collaboration with private clinics,” he commented.
“The limited will be absolutely necessary where some surgeries can go back,” he assured.
We have more than doubled the ICU beds, we have hired more than 12,000 doctors and nurses, we have taken 700 beds from the private sector in Thessaly and Northern Greece, COVID cases are served but we also send non COVID surgeries at no cost to the insured. It has essentially become a unified public-private health system. All vacant beds of the private ICU sector are at the disposal of EKAB, we have got beds. In Athens we have already planned which beds we will take from specific hospitals when we need them, individuals entered the system and with mobilization. In order to put a private structure on duty, you must be sure that it can cope with the duty that they do not know as a specialty.
“Currently we have 1,300 ICU beds which are shared, the NSS operates in 2 speeds, one speed the non COVID and one the COVID this means that the NSS has the pressure it had anyway as the economy and society is open has in addition to COVID. This means that when a hospital has full beds it has to provide more beds either from COVID for non COVID cases or the opposite goes according to its planning is a dynamic process. The German NSS is not under pressure as it has 40,000 ICUs? All the systems in Europe are made for some endurance, we have more than double the beds and unfortunately a part of our fellow citizens are concerned about them because the heavy hospitalizations in ICU beds and in simple beds with serious cases are basically 27% of our fellow human beings who do not have vaccinated it makes sense to have pressure that we manage.
Asked about any decision of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Thursday minors 5 to 11 years old, he referred to a decision of the EMA and after the decision of the National Vaccination Committee.
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