Greece Expects 600,000 COVID-19 Vaccines, Pandemic Worsens

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Greece Expects 600,000 COVID-19 Vaccines, Pandemic Worsens

September 7, 2020

FILE - This July 18, 2020, file photo, shows the AstraZeneca offices in Cambridge, England. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)

ATHENS – With COVID-19 resurging in a second wave after being held down by an early lockdown, Greek health officials said the situation is critical but manageable but preparations are being made to get more than 600,000 doses of a vaccine that's in clinical trials.

The tests are being conducted and co-developed by the Oxford Jenner Institute and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca in the United Kingdom with the world hoping for a panacea from the deadly Coronavirus that's still spreading.

The company expects to have a first batch of 30 million doses of the vaccine in November for the EU if it's proved safe and effective during the ongoing trials in a rush to find an answer to COVID-19.

EU officials said another 100 million shots could be available in a second development with the Greek government saying a crucial issue is the terms of indemnification for vaccine manufacturers for the cost of compensating patients if there are unexpected side effects.

Charalambos Gogos, an infectious disease specialist and member of Greece's COVID-19 Committee of Experts said the second wave can be held down with early diagnosis and treatment and effective tracking, the paper said.

But the New Democracy government, despite imposing more health protocols, still hasn't been able to convince people to obey them, the complacency and defiance leading to the resurgence of the Coronavirus.

Gogos said health authorities recorded 841 imported cases of the virus in a total of 6,320 new infections from the beginning of August up to Sept. 4, with 30% of them are asymptomatic, while 66% come from contact with a confirmed case.

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