The first 9,750 doses of the Pfizer-BioΝTech coronavirus vaccine against Covid-19 arrived under tight security in Greece on Christmas Day.
The vaccines will be stored in dedicated areas that meet all specifications for drug storage and from there they will be distributed to the 450 vaccination centers that will be gradually deployed.
A special plan with the help of anti-terrorist units and the participation of more than 4,000 police officers has been drawn up by the Hellenic Police (ELAS), on behalf of the Ministry of Civil Protection, for its storage.
Greece expects to receive 300,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses in the first tranche, meaning that 150,000 people will be vaccinated initially (vaccines will require two doses per patient), government spokesman Stelios Petsas said Wednesday.
The campaign to vaccinate the population has been described by Health Minister Vasilis Kikilias as the largest of its kind since World War II, while Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called it “Operation Irini (Operation Freedom)”.
Meanwhile, on Friday, Greek health authorities announced 617 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 in the country, bringing the total number to 134,852.
The number of intubated patients was 470 coronavirus patients currently intubated (median age is 67), while 851 have left IC.
The National Health Organization (EODY) said 50 people died from Covid-19 in Greece, bringing the total number of fatalities to 4,507.