A woman wearing a face mask stands in front of an empty terrace of a coffee shop in the old town of Nicosia, Cyprus, on Jan. 5, 2022. (Photo by George Christophorou/Xinhua)
The fourth dose will be made available to people aged over 70, HIV patients, immunosuppressed patients, and people with renal failure undergoing dialysis or peritoneal dialysis.
NICOSIA, March 22 (Xinhua) -- The Cypriot government on Tuesday approved a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose for vulnerable citizens after health authorities announced a new spike in cases.
The fourth dose will be made available to people aged over 70, HIV patients, immunosuppressed patients, and people with renal failure undergoing dialysis or peritoneal dialysis.
Residents and employees of nursing homes, and other health professionals will also have access to the fourth booster dose, said the Health Ministry.
The Ministry also called on parents to have children aged 12 and over vaccinated with a third booster dose. However, third doses for children, and fourth doses for adults are optional, and will not affect the validity of the European Digital Certificate.
A medical worker takes a swab from a boy for a COVID-19 rapid test in Nicosia, Cyprus, on Dec. 29, 2021. (Photo by George Christophorou/Xinhua)
The government's decision came in the wake of a surge in cases, after three days of carnival celebrations in the first week of March.
Health authorities reported a total of 5,286 new COVID-19 cases on Monday. The positivity rate climbed to an unprecedented 4.53 percent. This was more than three times higher than the number of daily infections two weeks ago.
Petros Karayiannis, a professor of microbiology and molecular virology at the University of Nicosia Medical School and a leading member of the scientific team advising the government on the pandemic, said that the reason behind the recent spike was a shift in mentality.
A woman receives a dose of COVID-19 vaccine at the Latsia Health Center, in Nicosia, Cyprus on July 16, 2021. (Photo by George Christophorou/Xinhua)
Most people wrongfully believe that the pandemic is over, he said, and are not wearing masks in public places or taking other precautionary measures.
The Omicron BA.2 sub-variant makes up 90 percent of total COVID-19 cases, he added, and most of those who are getting infected are young and unvaccinated.
Authorities have said that willingness to have the vaccine has considerably declined among all sections of the population.
Another member of the government's scientific advisory team, Zoe Dorothea Pana, also said that the "pandemic fatigue" among the population, unusually cold weather in March, and the higher transmissibility of the Omicron BA.2 sub-variant are to blame for the rise in infections.
This has led the Health Ministry to postpone considering further relaxation of restrictions for two weeks. ■
