ATHENS — The current target is for a wall of immunity against the coronavirus to be reached in Greece this summer, Health Secretary General Marios Themistocleous said at the regular live briefing on Monday.

At least 50 pct of the country's population will have been vaccinated this summer season, he added.

He also noted that currently inoculation appointments are being fully booked "within hours" from the moment they first become available in the system, and that this trend will go up in the summer. There is, in fact, tremendous demand for vaccination appointments in Attica region right now, he added.

Citizens aged 25-29 will be able to book vaccination appointments with three available vaccines as of Thursday June 10, he underlined.

Some 6.3 million people have so far been vaccinated in Greece, 4 million with one dose of a vaccine and 2.3 million with both doses.

Kikilias: Perks for vaccinated citizens will be discussed in the autumn

All mRNA vaccines, such as those developed by Pfizer and Moderna, will be available on the islands over the next few days, Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias said on Tuesday in an interview with SKAI TV.

Speaking about possible perks for the vaccinated, he said that "this will be done after all citizens have [been given] access to the vaccines. It is not about punishing the rest, but about the possibility of rewarding or facilitating those who have been vaccinated on the basis of social and economic activity."

He specified that the discussion about extra privileges will take place in the autumn, saying: "We will end the tourist season, we will look for incentives and in the autumn we will decide what will happen to those who are not vaccinated. I believe that society will of its own accord push the rest to get vaccinated. Society cannot be shut down for another winter. It is not a game. Human lives are still being lost."

Regarding the vaccination of children and adolescents, he noted: "The goal is to start before the beginning of the school year, as soon as the international authorities approve it. We let scientists properly study what applies and what the risk is, what the clinical trials for adolescents show. Based on this data, the scientists will make a recommendation and the government will decide."