ATHENS — Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias in an interview with 'Ta Nea' newspaper on Saturday stressed the need for the strict observance of the protection measures against coronavirus.

He also reiterated the agreement with the European Union for receiving the necessary number of vaccines to be provided for free to all the Greek citizens.

"It is not just the deal with Astra Zeneca. We must underline that the European Commission has been moving decisively all this time to ensure that the citizens of the EU member states have the required number of vaccines against Covid-19. The exploratory discussions with the pharmaceutical Cure Vac for 225 million doses have just been concluded, while similar discussions have taken place with other companies, such as Johnson & Johnson," the Health Minister said.

Referring to the Covid-19 vaccine being developed by the University of Oxford, he noted that "the company that produces this vaccine, AstraZeneca, announced that the agreement with the European Commission for the supply of up to 400 million doses has been concluded, with the first doses being delivered at the end of 2020," adding that as announced by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the vaccine will be available for free to all the Greek citizens.