Health ministry approves third vax jab for those age 60 or older, healthcare workers

The National Commission on Vaccination announced today that it has approved the administration of a third dose of mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) to individuals age 60 or older and to healthcare workers.

Greece has fully vaccinated 56 percent of the population and the rate remains low among citizens in the high-risk older age brackets.

The Committee had already approved a third dose for immunosuppressed patients and 10,000 people in the high-risk groups have gotten the third jab since the appointments platform opened last week.

The third dose vaccine rollout for those over age 60 and healthcare workers is scheduled to begin on 30 September.

The Committee’s president, Athens University Medical School Professor Emerita Maria Theodoridou, told a regular, televised news conference this afternoon that the data demonstrate the dangers for unvaccinated older people.

She said that data released by the National Public Health Organisation (EODY) indicate that a large percentage of patients with serious COVID-19 cases between the ages of 60-79 must be treated in hospital ICUs.

Theodoridou said international studies indicate that a third dose of the vaccine should not as yet be administered to the general population.

Asked if a third dose on the vaccine would be necessary if 80 percent of the population were vaccinated, she said that in that case many things would be different but that a booster shot would still have been necessary in particular cases.

Questions and answers about third vax dose

How long after the second dose should one get a third jab?

A third dose should be administered at least six months after the second jab,

Will a third dose be compulsory?

Health ministry officials have said that a third jab will by no means be compulsory, but that it is recommended for the aforementioned groups.

Why is it recommended that those over age 60 get a third jab?

The international scientific community has not yet definitively decided whether a third dose should be administered to the general population. The most recent example was the FDA’s denying permission except for individuals in high-risk groups and people over age 65. That explains why it is desirable for those over age 60 to get a booster shot.

Moreover, the scientific data indicate that the intensity of the immune response is affected by age.

“We have announced that people over age 60 will need a third dose of the vaccine, because various laboratory studies and the epidemiological evidence indicate that the older one is and the more time has passed since the second dose – at least six months – the greater the likelihood of one having been infected by the virus,” said Athens University Medical School Professor Vana Papaevangelou, a spokesperson for the National Committee on COVID-19.