Cyprus tops EU infection list – starts vaccinating 12-year-olds

Since the end of June, the spread of infection has increased sharply in Cyprus. From about 60 falls per day in early summer, the number rose to 1,150 in mid-July. On several occasions, the country has set new records for the largest number of infected people during the pandemic.

Then you have the infection rate It has decreased slightly, but in terms of the infection rate – the number of infections per 100,000 inhabitants – the country still ranks first in the European Union without being threatened. According to the latest update of the European Agency for the Control of Communicable Diseases, ECDC, the infection rate in the country reached 1,513 in the past two weeks, much higher than Spain’s second (784) and the Netherlands’ third (643). The corresponding number in Sweden is 43.

The increase in summer is due to the prevalence of the most contagious delta variant in the country. To control the situation, vaccinations will now be offered to children between the ages of 12 and 15, the government announced on Friday. The previous age limit is 16 years.

The age group will be able to get the mRNA vaccine from Pfizer/Biontech and Moderna starting August 2. Children will then need their parent’s consent.

About 73 percent of Cypriot adults received their first dose of the vaccine, according to figures from the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Sixty-four percent received the second injection and were fully vaccinated.

At the same time, vaccine resistance in parts of the population and the delta variant are two major public health problems, warns the health minister.

This is not the first time that Cyprus has been on the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s infection list. At the beginning of the month, April and May, the country recorded the highest infection rate in the union. Then the government imposed a draconian lockdown on the community and was eventually able to reverse this trend.

During the pandemic, 100,784 cases of the virus have been reported in the country. A total of 416 people have died after contracting covid-19, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.

Read more:

The Security Council condemned Turkey’s Cypriot plan

Variable delta and rapid relief behind the increase in infections in Europe