ATHENS — "The Freedom Pass announced by the prime minister is an initiative to encourage young people, who probably feel safer but can still transmit the virus, to get vaccinated as they are a very active part of the population," government spokesperson Aristotelia Peloni said on Tuesday in a interview with OPEN TV.

At the same time, she added, the 150 euros in the pre-paid Freedom Pass card is a reward for the sacrifices that young people were forced to make during the pandemic. This was a group that was severely impacted by the restriction measures and was deprived of its life, university, friends and entertainment and the card was "a least compensation, a reward for their patience," said Peloni.

Regarding vaccinations, she said that vaccination coverage in the age groups between 60-plus and 85-plus was making good progress and increasing steadily, especially in the 75-79 age group where it was over 80 percent if one included the appointments booked.

"In the face of the Delta variant, vaccination is our only weapon. We are in a good epidemiological state but this is a crucial stage because it must not lead to complacency. We are not done with the virus yet. We need over 70 percent vaccination coverage and we want to achieve this as soon as possible," Peloni added.