South Cyprus will make coronavirus vaccine mandatory for all

South Cyprus will make coronavirus vaccination mandatory for all citizens and residents when it becomes available, said Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou.

Ioannou made the announcement on Monday in an interview with ANT1 when he reconfirmed that Cyprus is set to get 1.2m doses of coronavirus vaccinations when they are available and that each person will have to be vaccinated.

When asked whether the vaccination will be mandatory – to which he replied simply: “yes.”

Asked whether a person will be able to decline the vaccination, he said that it will not be an option to do so.

He further said that once 60-70 per cent of the population has been vaccinated, in statistical models, it is seen that the entire population has been vaccinated.

Ioannou emphasised that the time frame for the vaccine is in no way set in stone. According to the best indicators, the earliest it will be available is towards the end of 2020 or early 2021.

Cyprus is earmarked to receive 1.2 million doses of any potential vaccine which is procured by the European Union.

If the situation were to arise where the initial amounts are lower than the 1.2 million, he said some groups would be prioritised – the vulnerable, according to age and so on.

He however backtracked on comments later on Monday evening when quizzed by CyBC regarding the statements.

I wrongly stated my personal opinion that it [the vaccine] should be mandatory, he said.

He said the point he had been attempting to make was that in his personal opinion they need to find a way to vaccinate a large amount of the population.