“The only way and the safest way to leave this pandemic behind is the vaccine”, stressed the Minister of Health Thanos Plevris in his speech at the Conference “Health above all” co-organized by Next is Now and Dome Consulting under the auspices of the Ministry of Health and the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.
The speech:
“The big risk we are facing right now is the National Health System that we will have after the pandemic and the actions that we will have to take in order to provide better health services to the citizens.
Certainly the pandemic was a test for all national health systems and especially for ours, which had pathogens before, which the pandemic exacerbated.
It is true that humanity did not expect to be ready to face such a pandemic and the reality is that it could not be completely ready.
The European Union, after the initial delays, proceeded to take joint decisions based on solidarity.
The vaccination program, as a whole of Europe, was a program where the states withdrew in order to show solidarity with all the member states, and what is not known is that the European Union, as we mentioned yesterday in the Council of Health Ministers, is the essentially a larger group of countries, which selflessly offer vaccines to third countries. The vaccines given by the European Union in Africa and other developing countries are superior to those given by any other country.
So, through the pandemic we are in the next challenges, which is on the one hand to complete the vaccination coverage, so that we are fortified against the “Omicron” mutation, which we are now watching and for which we estimate that in the coming days we will have more accurate data. and data.
To this end, we as the Government have been obliged to take some measures, which are certainly not pleasant, as they have to do with the restriction of freedom – especially of people over 60 – or in the part of the support dose, which from 13/12 if not have received it, while they have completed seven months, they will be considered in their activities as unvaccinated, as respectively in the part of 60 and over, who have not done the first installment, so they will be required to have an administrative fine for the benefit of the National Health System.
Yesterday, in the Council of Ministers of Health, there was interest of many countries in this direction, as the conversation started regarding the validity of European Certificates with some countries wanting the 12 months and others, like us, who consider the 9 months, proposed by the Commission, is a time that may be quite long based on the available data.
Regarding pharmaceutical policy: We have already started some initiatives in order to streamline the cost of medicine. It is not possible to talk in 2021 to 2022 about a clawback that totals 1.5 billion euros.
The clawback has entered a period of fiscal consolidation. It had specific goals and structural changes had to be made.
Unfortunately these structural changes did not take place and now it is finally time to take the necessary measures, streamline the clawback and enable the many companies that are here to grow, have an investment sign and give to our patients the innovative medicines, but also the services they need.
In this direction, the debate is reopening in the European Union that there should be autonomy for Europe in terms of medical devices and medicine.
Regarding EOPYY: We are guided by the quality of the services provided and we clearly say that EOPYY will evolve into a genuine insurance company that will buy quality services. This means that it will not contract with all providers, but with those of them who provide quality services and will be compensated accordingly according to the services they provide.
Quality is at the heart of our policy and concerns the third part that has to do with the new NSS, with the new National Health System, which is largely handled and essentially worked on by the Deputy Minister, Mina Gaga, the which comes from the “guts” of the National Health System. Respectively, the reforms we want to make in the new NSS have to do with a map, which will serve the needs of the citizens, the needs of the patients. And not possibly some other needs that are outside of Health.
This means that the hospitals will be structured in such a way as to serve the needs and respectively we will go to new relationships, since from the Recovery Fund there is a lot of money that can be given to the reconstruction of the National Health System. Our goal, however, is to provide them in such a way that the National Health System can provide the services as best they can, at a time when doctors are no longer as they were in the 1990s and 2000s. attractive to them the National Health System.
Turning, then, to the issue of the pandemic, we are making a great effort, strengthening the NSS. We realize that like any national health system, ours has reached its limits.
At the EU Council of Health Ministers yesterday, the countries of Central Europe discussed how one has taken patients from the other. These are national health systems that were very strong and this shows that no system can withstand pandemic conditions.
We in our country have strengthened it and we provide the best possible services to all citizens. We understand that there are problems, but we have a clear will that has to do with the fact that when – now with the new data given to me now by Marios Themistokleous – we have reached 78% of the adult citizens, who occupy the national health system, to have done at least the first dose, 74% have completed the vaccination, we can not talk about any closure of society, no closure of economy.
What we can discuss is the strengthening of the National Health System, the strengthening of vaccinations, the pumping of the new treatments that we already have here, in our country.
And in any case, the only and safest way to leave this pandemic behind is the vaccine.
I announce the beginning of the conference and thank you very much for the opportunity you gave me to be the one who will announce the beginning “.
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