The Greek government is set to halt its mandatory vaccination policy for those over the age of 60 on April 15th but may bring back fines for the still-unvaccinated in September of this year.
Health Minister Thanos Plevris stated on Wednesday that the monthly fine for those who are over the age of 60 and still unvaccinated against the Wuhan virus will be suspended as of April 15th, just months after the policy was introduced by the government in an effort to increase Greek vaccination rates.
Plevris also noted that while the European Union member-state would be suspending the measure, fines accrued by those who remained unvaccinated during the period the policy was enforced would still have to pay, newspaper Ekathimerini reports.
Greece Imposes Fines on Unvaccinated Elderly https://t.co/6JMub3n2ZR
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The Greek government is set to revisit the measure in September, according to Plevris, who added that a committee of health experts would be advising on lifting more restrictions.
“Based on the committee’s recommendations, the government will make decisions,” he said.
Greece was one of the first countries to introduce a mandatory vaccination policy for all citizens over a certain age and one of the few European countries to implement such a measure. Italy also mandated vaccinations for all residents over the age of 50 in February.
Italy’s mandatory vaccinations for those over the age of 50 remains in force, with an estimated 600,000 people receiving fines earlier this month from the Italian tax agency.
Despite Italy ending its state of emergency at the end of March and gradually scrapping its coronavirus health passport system and other restrictions, the mandatory vaccination for those over 50 is expected to remain in force until at least June 15th.
In Austria, where the government planned to make vaccinations mandatory for everyone in the country over the age of 18 on pain of fines and possibly even prison time for non-compliance, the mandate was eventually dropped earlier this month in the face of significant public resistance.
The Austrian government said it had consulted with experts on the measure and deemed it “not proportionate”.
Around 600,000 Italians over the age of 50 are set to receive a fine for being unvaccinated despite the Italian government reviewing a loosening of various Wuhan virus restrictions. https://t.co/mdnGPe0fva
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) March 12, 2022
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