“ The time has come for the State to reward the efforts of a category of citizens who have been particularly hard pressed during the last sixteen months. I am referring to our approximately 940,000 young people between the ages of 18 and 25. For months their studies were turned upside down, they couldn’t see their friends, travel and entertainment were on hold ”, launched Monday, June 28, the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
He especially wants to encourage people under 25 to get vaccinated: “Young people may think that they won’t get Covid-19 or that if they do get it, they won’t be very sick. But they become carriers of the virus and contribute to its spread. Their vaccination is essential! “ This is the objective of the “freedom pass”, which will come into force from mid-July and will allow people under 25 to benefit from a voucher of 150 euros from their first dose of vaccine (those who have been vaccinated before this date will also benefit).
These gift vouchers, recorded as barcodes on smartphones, can be used as part of a trip to Greece (for boat or plane tickets, a place in an accommodation or in a camping, vehicle rental…) or for cultural activities (tickets for shows, cinema, theater, concert, but also museum tickets…).
Achieve collective immunity “
The Greek authorities, who are worried about the progression of the Delta variant of the new coronavirus, want to reach a collective immunity threshold as quickly as possible (i.e. more than 70% of the vaccinated population) to avoid a new confinement in the fall. So far, nearly 33% of the country’s 10.8 million people have received two doses of the vaccine, and more than 70% one dose.
Since May, the number of hospitalizations and deaths has shown a downward trend. The number of recorded daily cases is now around 300, while in March it stood at more than 4,000. “Our goal of achieving collective immunity is all the more important now that, alongside the lifting of restrictive measures, we must deal with the spread of the Delta variant. ”, Underlined Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Since June 19, the platform for making an appointment to be vaccinated has been open to anyone over 18 living in Greece.
You have 41.98% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.