ATHENS – “The measures for the unvaccinated implemented from Monday in several areas are aimed, first of all, at their own protection – not at some form of revenge – and secondly as an indirect means of pressure for more people to get vaccinated,” government spokesperson Yiannis Oikonomou clarified in an interview with the public broadcaster ERT on Wednesday.

“Already in the last month we have 500,000 appointments for a first shot, something which is very important, while the appointments for a booster shot of the vaccine are also going very well,” he added.

Oikonomou said that the government has been following a balanced strategy from September 2021, with the economy and education fully operational and society open on the one hand and, on the other hand, the battle on the healthcare front to increase vaccination coverage and support the National Health System.

He reiterated that the most important thing at present, as Christmas approaches, is to do everything possible to keep the market open by implementing the protection measures. “The economy is not going to shut down. We are not going to return to a life that is circumscribed,” he said.