ATHENS, July 26, 2021 (BSS/AFP) - Greece will open Covid-19

vaccinations to youngsters aged 12-15 in August, Health Minister
Vassilis Kikilias told local television on Monday.

  Vaccination for this group has been approved and will be optional, he said.

   The programme is expected to start from Friday.

   Maria Theodoridou, president of the country's vaccination
committee, stressed that there had been a significant rise in
infections among children and adolescents recently.

   "The constant contamination of children is going to lead to the
appearance of new variants" of the coronavirus she warned.

   Some 30,000 appointments have already been made by teenagers aged
15 to 17, Kikilias said, as he called again for all Greeks to receive
the jab.

   "They should all go and get vaccinated, even now in the summer," he said.

   The decision to extend vaccination to 12 to 15-year-olds comes as
Greece grapples with a surge in coronavirus case numbers, in
particular the highly infectious Delta variant.

   Earlier this month, Greece's parliament passed a bill introducing
mandatory vaccinations of all health workers, including those working
in retirement homes.

   It requires all people working in retirement homes to be vaccinated
by August 16 or be put on unpaid leave. The same applies for health
workers in both public and private sector from September 1.

   In the spring, Greece made a push to get people living on its
islands vaccinated ahead of the summer tourist season, which is vital
for the local economy.

   Although many island residents have been fully vaccinated, a large
portion of tourism sector employees there remain hesitant, according
to Greek authorities.

   The popular tourist island of Mykonos, which was considered a
vaccination model, was placed on red alert earlier in July, as cases
jumped there.

   Restrictions including a 24-hour ban on music and a 1:00-6:00 am
curfew were reimposed, until being lifted on Monday.

   More than 10 million vaccine doses have been administered in Greece
and around 5.5 million people, out of a total population of about 10.7
million, have been fully jabbed.