A nurse prepares a vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at Evangelismos hospital, as the vaccination of the general population begins, in Athens, Greece, January 16, 2021. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis
Professor of Pulmonology, Theodoros Vasilakopoulos, noted when speaking on OPEN TV that several elderly people will lose their lives if they are vaccinated.
Vasilakopoulos' comments were made as vaccinations for people over the age of 85 began on Saturday, and several elderly people are concerned about the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The professor stressed that "several elderly people will lose their lives if they are vaccinated, but for whatever reason, it does not mean that they will die from the vaccine, and we should not connect them."
Meanwhile, the President of the Panhellenic Pharmaceutical Association, Apostolos Valtas, said the elderly must be vaccinated on schedule or else it can delay the system in place.
"The biggest problem with the elderly is that they are very concerned about the safety of the vaccine. Our role is to convince them that they need to be vaccinated and go to their appointments, otherwise the system goes out," Valtas said.
"The system is simple, but not many vaccination centers are operating, such as on the islands," said the president of the Panhellenic Pharmaceutical Association.
In total, until last night, about 80,000 people had been vaccinated since the beginning of the procedure.
The second dose will be gradually given to those who already received the first dose of the vaccination over the coming days.
Vaccination against COVID-19 is free for everyone in Greece.