ATHENS – With Greece’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign stepping up but still far behind schedule, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is calling on the European Union to put the squeeze on drug companies who aren’t sending enough.

The New Democracy leader said the pharmaceutical companies “must meet their schedules for the delivery of vaccine doses in the second quarter of 2021, when it is anticipated that there will be a significant increase in the rate of vaccinations.”

Late in 2020 he said that Greece would be getting millions of doses but that hasn’t happened and so far only one million shots have been given – but two are required and there’s been no report how many people have gotten both.

Health officials said at least 70 percent of the population of more than 10.7 million people – or some 7.49 million – but must be inoculated but the drug companies, especially the United Kingdom’s AstraZeneca aren’t supplying them.

Mitsotakis had said life could get back to near normal by November if the vaccinations pick up and he’s eager to get the battered economy going after with non-essential businesses in an extended third lockdown.

He spoke after meeting European Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas – from New Democracy – to discuss inoculations, the vaccination certificate as well as the new migration and asylum pact.

“Greece is moving proportionally faster than many European countries,” Mistotakis said, but now needs to speed the process “so that we can build the wall of immunity which will allow us to return to normalcy,” at some point.