Press Releases

The Minister of Health, Mr Constantinos Ioannou is waiting for the suggestions of the Scientific Advisory Committee on the following steps regarding the AstraZeneca vaccine. In his statements during a press conference on the presentation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan for the Health Sector, Mr Ioannou said that in case there is no specific and clear position on behalf of the Scientific Advisory Committee, the Ministry of Health will request a risk assessment from an overseas organisation.

Replying to a question regarding the AstraZeneca vaccine and citizens’ concerns on whether or not to have their 2nd dose, given the recent developments, and whether he has received the suggestions of the Scientific Advisory Committee for coronavirus regarding the vaccine’s administration, the Minister of Health said that the implementation of the vaccination plan continues normally at a rapid pace.  “We have covered almost 51% of the population with the 1st dose and over 23% has completed their vaccination. We rank among the top countries in the European Union”, he noted.

In relation to the issue that has arisen with a specific vaccine, the Minister stressed: “as Ministry of Health, we do not compromise people’s lives and that is why we asked for the well-documented opinion of scientists on what has to be done. If the response, that I expect to receive by noon, is not sufficient or documented, towards either one or the other direction, then we will seek advice from abroad. There are competent bodies that can advise us. This matter will be concluded by the afternoon. What I want to emphasise, and this is also emphasised by every expert in Cyprus, is that irrespective of the decision regarding the certain vaccine, the 2nd dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine is not affected. And this will be emphasised not only today but constantly”. Regarding the rescheduling of appointments for the administration of the 2nd dose, Mr Ioannou explained that the delay occurred due to the delay in the delivery of the batch, an inconsistency by the manufacturing company that is being observed for a long time now and affects all EU member states. “We, along with the scientists, urge people to come and receive their 2nd dose, because only then adequate protection can be achieved”, he said.

Asked whether we will address EMA to give us with instructions on AstraZeneca, Mr Ioannou pointed out that the European Medicines Agency has already given instructions about the vaccine, as the competent Authority for the approval of all pharmaceuticals within the EU. For this particular vaccine, he said, the instructions are that it can be administered without age limitation. Some countries, as the Minister of Health explained, do a risk assessment and decide on an age limit. “This is what I expect from the recommendations of the experts. If the recommendations of the experts do not propose something specific, I believe that the relevant risk assessment should be done also for Cyprus, and it can be done by a body from abroad”, he said.

Asked about the quantities of the vaccines expected to be received during the following period, Mr Ioannou said that within June 201,000 doses of the Phizer/BioNTech vaccine, 24,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine, 35,000 Janssen vaccines and around 90,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will be received which are sufficient (AN AstraZeneca doses) for the 2^nd doses. The Minister clarified that there will be enough quantities for the administration of the 2^nd dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, but there may not be available quantities for the arrangement of new vaccination appointments with this specific vaccine, until there is a decision on how to handle the issue.

Invited to comment on reports regarding the recommendations of the Scientific Advisory Committee members, which seem to differ, the Minister of Health underlined that he has not yet received their recommendations and stressed that he expects from the Scientific Advisory Committee a “scientifically documented opinion. I understand that they have not concluded and each one of them will provide their personal opinion. Personally, this is not what I expected, because in a committee that has a role, we expect their scientific position.  Depending on their position, there will be relevant announcements. 

Asked if the vaccination plan can proceed smoothly, given the delays of the manufacturing company, which affect all the EU countries, Mr Ioannou noted that “based on the quantities we expect, the vaccination target of 65% will be achieved with the doses of the rest of the vaccines”.

Subsequently, when asked about the phenomenon that had been observed at the beginning of the implementation of GeSY of abuses by providers and whether this has been resolved, the Minister of Health pointed out that actions are constantly being taken to reduce the phenomenon and increase the supervision of the System. There is, he said, a roadmap which includes various actions such as the implementation of regulations, separate budgets by specialisation, etc. In relation to reports about huge amounts brought to light in the past, Mr Ioannou said that most doctors with high earnings made the same amount of money pre-GeSY. “Our focus is not on the size of the amounts, but on whether or not there is any wastefulness. A lot of measures are taken, the department assessing claims has been strengthened, etc” he said, adding that the issue of waste within the Health System is a matter of constant concern to us and will concern us in the coming years.

Asked whether any decisions regarding the AstraZeneca will apply to the Janssen vaccine which is of the same technology, Mr Ioannou said that risk assessment will only be carried out on the specific vaccine.

Invited to comment on whether the increased expenditure on the health sector includes expenditure on the management of the pandemic, Mr Ioannou said that the actual expenditure is what had been budgeted and does not include the pandemic management. The expenditure presented today had been budgeted “precisely to offer quality healthcare services, and most of it concerns the purchase of medical equipment in public hospitals. A large part of the Budget is an investment in n human resources, as positions in public hospitals have increased by a few hundreds, in paramedical personnel, in administrative personnel, and in frontline personnel. This has always been the Government’s policy, to offer an even higher standard of health care by increasing the Budget. And the culmination of all this is the implementation of GeSY, which was something that had not been finalized for decades”.

In response to a question about the complaint made to the police about a company which allegedly provided the Ministry with fake rapid tests, the Minister of Health referred to a briefing by the Director General, saying that a complaint had been made to the Police for products which did not meet requirements and that investigation of the case was underway. He made it clear that the products were not channelled for testing, since, as he said, all the medical equipment is checked before it is used. 

Finally, asked about the incident that took place yesterday at the premises of the Ministry of Health, the Minister described the incident unacceptable and said that the investigation by the police is expected to be completed.

(MPO/MV/NG/APH/IK)