Government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou referred to the obligation to vaccinate over the age of 60 in a TV interview with OPEN, emphasizing that we are one of the first European countries to make this difficult decision and others will follow. “It was a difficult decision, no doubt. “It was a responsible decision of the government, which fully serves our strategy which is to keep the economy, society and education open.”
“First of all, the data that constantly come from the Health System show that the group that is most affected, whether it is sick, or intubated, or unfortunately the people who lose their lives, the vast majority, belong to the group of the unvaccinated. 60 years and older. Secondly, in November, in this great effort to increase the vaccination coverage we made, unfortunately the smallest percentage was from these age groups. We have reached 83% of the age group 60 and over, but a percentage of 17% remains, which has not seemed to be mobilized in the last period either. We had a very small participation of about 3%. And thirdly, the “Omicron” mutation – which is still largely uncharted – is of particular concern to all countries, political leaderships, health systems, and we owe it to our country to make the difficult but courageous decisions that are needed to “We must protect the specific age group, but also the society as a whole and the public interest in general”, said Mr. Oikonomou.
He stressed: “When one discusses obligation, one realizes that in order to face it, one must also have a specific sanction. There is no logic to optional obligation. The government has exhausted the entire chain of persuasion in the past. I am referring, first of all, to the full operation of the “Freedom” program, one of the best vaccination programs in the world, which enabled anyone to be vaccinated for free, easily, with any vaccine they wanted, wherever they wanted. I am referring to the fact of information campaigns, whether it was with statements, or it was with campaigns, or it was with information. I am referring to the fact that the State, the State, went the vaccine out of everyone’s door. More than 19,000 people who have been unable to move have already been vaccinated in their homes. Vaccination teams have been set up on the spot in the most remote areas of the country, in the mountains and on the islands. “There is ongoing cooperation with the Central Union of Municipalities and Communities, so that where vaccination problems are identified, they can be addressed immediately.”
The government spokesman acknowledged that “there are exceptions due to medical reasons, which also applied in the case of compulsory vaccination of health workers, where then the sanction was the suspension of their work. Exactly the same criteria, health, medical, will apply to those of our fellow citizens who fall into these categories. Some say that there are elderly people who do not have someone to move them, who are unable to leave their home and go to get the vaccine or even have the inability to use electronic means to be vaccinated. The answer is that with the mobile vaccination teams the State will bring the vaccine to its door, either through cooperation with the Local Government, or with other programs such as “Help at Home”. The spirit of the State is not punitive. It is an increased pressure, it is an intense urge. This is because this age group, according to all indicators, with all the data we have, is the most vulnerable to coronavirus, for serious illness, for intubation, for life threatening. And also because all this burdens the National Health System, with all that entails. It was a difficult decision, no doubt. It was, however, a responsible decision of the government, which fully serves our strategy which is to keep the economy, society and education open.
We were one of the first countries in Europe to open the commemorative dose. We are one of the first countries in Europe to make this difficult decision, and others will follow. We support our strategy with tests, we support it with increased diagnostic tests and with the support of the National Health Service “.
Mr. Economou also stressed that “the regulations and decisions of the government are fully compatible with the Constitution. Already, reputable constitutionalists have spoken publicly about it. When I am in an age group at risk of getting seriously ill because I refuse to be vaccinated – with a vaccine that is free, approved, and carries no risk – I put myself at risk. I am at the same time putting the public interest and society at enormous risk. I am putting much more pressure on the National Health System, with the end result that these services that it could provide to other groups, who have done what the State has asked of them, but are also faced with other types of diseases, cannot have the proper care.
If you have not been vaccinated by January 16, there will be a fine. We are on December 1st, everything is known to everyone. “We do not need to wait until January 14, 15 or 12.”
Referring to the stance of the opposition and SYRIZA in particular, the government spokesman pointed out that three things are being proven: First, the intense opposition to the Prime Minister for whatever he does, for whatever he decides, for whatever he says . Second, the obsession to become an opposition through the pandemic. And third, the huge hypocrisy. If one thing emerged from the reaction of SYRIZA and Mr. Tsipras to the latest announcements about the obligation in this age group, it was extreme hypocrisy. You can not say that you should go to mandatory vaccination for other groups, for other ages, without chanting a single consequence for those who will not meet the obligation.
The situation was completely different last summer, when we encouraged young people to get vaccinated. Let me remind you that then Mr. Tsipras was accusing us of acquisition. When we were motivated, he told us about cheap redemption of consciences. And now that we put the obligation for 60 and over, he tells us why you do not motivate. I am sure that if the Prime Minister did the opposite yesterday, he would say that it is an acquisition – and in fact an election campaign – instead of a more coordinated campaign. I do not know exactly what they mean in SYRIZA the coordinated campaign “.
He concluded: “In the age group of 60 and over, 83% of citizens have been vaccinated. By that logic, what should we do for the 83% of citizens who have been vaccinated? Should we give them a reward bonus? “This logic does not stand up to the urgency of the moment, nor to the responsibility that governments have to show when they have to deal with such difficult situations,” he said.
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