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dpa
Athens
Fines went into effect in Greece on Monday for people aged 60 and up who aren’t vaccinated against the coronavirus.
The new regulations require anyone above the cut-off age to pay a monthly fee of 100 euros (114.50 US dollars) if they have opted not to get vaccinated. The incoming rule was announced in November.
State health authorities will transmit the names of the unvaccinated to finance authorities so fines can be levied. The money will be used to support hospitals in Greece.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said there is a simple way to avoid punishment. “You get vaccinated and then you don’t pay any fine,” he told broadcaster ANT1 in an interview last week.
The government already considers the measure a success. Since the announcement of penalties a good six weeks ago, around 217,000 over 60-year-olds have been vaccinated. This increased the vaccination rate in this age group to 90 per cent. But Mitsotakis ruled out compulsory vaccination for other age groups, saying that it was primarily the elderly who became seriously ill with Covid and had to be treated in hospitals.
Athens
Fines went into effect in Greece on Monday for people aged 60 and up who aren’t vaccinated against the coronavirus.
The new regulations require anyone above the cut-off age to pay a monthly fee of 100 euros (114.50 US dollars) if they have opted not to get vaccinated. The incoming rule was announced in November.
State health authorities will transmit the names of the unvaccinated to finance authorities so fines can be levied. The money will be used to support hospitals in Greece.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said there is a simple way to avoid punishment. “You get vaccinated and then you don’t pay any fine,” he told broadcaster ANT1 in an interview last week.
The government already considers the measure a success. Since the announcement of penalties a good six weeks ago, around 217,000 over 60-year-olds have been vaccinated. This increased the vaccination rate in this age group to 90 per cent. But Mitsotakis ruled out compulsory vaccination for other age groups, saying that it was primarily the elderly who became seriously ill with Covid and had to be treated in hospitals.
