People ages 60 and older who reside in Greece face fines starting Monday if they aren’t vaccinated in opposition to COVID-19.
Older people who usually are not inoculated might be fined 50 euros, which is equal to $57, in January, in response to The Related Press. In the event that they nonetheless don’t get the shot, they are going to be fined 100 euros, equal to $114, each month going ahead.
The brand new coverage, which was introduced in November, comes as Greece’s vaccination price trails that of the European Union common. Roughly two-thirds of Greece’s 10.7 million individual inhabitants is totally vaccinated in opposition to COVID-19, however the EU has an inoculation price of barely greater than 70 p.c, in response to the AP.
People with legitimate well being issues might be exempt from the brand new coverage, authorities spokesman Giannis Oikonomou stated, in response to the AP. This consists of individuals who had been not too long ago contaminated and people who skilled delays with their functions for dwelling vaccination.
Oikonomou stated, nonetheless, that “the legislation might be totally enforced,” in response to the AP.
Greek Well being Minister Thanos Plevris stated the tax workplace will acquire the fines, which is able to then go in the direction of serving to state hospitals amid the pandemic, in response to the AP.
“The age issue is essential due to its influence on the general public well being service,” Plevris informed Open TV on Sunday, in response to the information wire.
Nations throughout the globe, together with Greece, are seeing a spike in COVID-19 instances, pushed partly by the extremely transmissible omicron variant. Every day infections spiked early this month however have since subsided, in response to the AP.
Greece introduced final yr that every one well being care staff have to be vaccinated in opposition to COVID-19, the information wire famous. The nation is reportedly set to start one other new coverage on Feb. 1: Beginning that day, grownup vaccine certificates which can be seven months previous might be deemed expired if the holder doesn’t get a booster shot.
Some Greek lawmakers have questioned if the coverage is authorized, however the authorities has stood by the transfer, pointing to a 2020 court docket choice that stated public day care facilities had been allowed to show away youngsters who weren’t inoculated in opposition to childhood diseases, in response to the AP.
Greece is just not the one space contemplating fines as a technique to improve vaccination charges. The Canadian province of Quebec revealed final week that it’s contemplating a well being tax on people who haven’t been vaccinated in opposition to COVID-19 and haven’t got a legitimate medical exemption.
