A topic that is debated throughout Europe. Medical staff not vaccinated against Covid-19 returned to work in Greece this Monday, sixteen months after their suspension, the Hellenic Federation of Public Hospital Employees (POEDIN) announced in a press release.
This return of some 2,000 caregivers to public hospitals and ambulance services follows a decision by the Council of State, the highest administrative court, which forced the government to lift the ban.
The reintegration of these caregivers constitutes “a great breather for the system, but the problem of the lack of personnel remains,” stressed the POEDIN.
Another 5,000, also not vaccinated, had already been able to resume or continue their professional activity thanks to a medical certificate that accredited, for example, that they had already contracted the virus.
Mandatory vaccination from 2021
In Greece, vaccination was made mandatory for nursing home staff in August 2021 and for carers two weeks later, prompting opposition demonstrations.
The anti-vaccination movement has experienced a clear boom in a country that suffered strict lockdowns in 2020 and 2021, to the point that Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis assured at the end of 2021 that Greece was facing “a pandemic of unvaccinated”.
Most of the Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted in Greece, except for health facilities and public transport. But in the subways, buses or trams, most travelers do not have a mask despite the obligation to wear it.
Source: BFM TV
