Meropi Ydraiou participates in online seminar on pandemic
Meropi Ydraiou
14 Ιουλίου 2021
/ 12:43
CORFU. On Monday 12 July Central Corfu Mayor and Board member of Central Union of Greek Municipalities (KEDE) Meropi Ydraiou participated in the online KEDE workshop to update local governments on the pandemic.
More than 120 local governments took part in the online event with real scientific COVID-19 vaccination data with LSE Professor of Health Policy Elias Mossialos, as a guest.
The President of KEDE, D. Papastergiou, stressed that the Greek Municipalities will stand by citizens at this point of the pandemic, as they have been doing from the very first moment, and will undertake the task of properly informing them, in order to build up the immunity that is so much needed in our country by increasing the number of vaccinations.
KEDE will set up a helpdesk with information and direct answers to citizens' questions, so that everyone can have access to official information. At the same time, and in cooperation with the Ministry of Digital Policy, vaccination data will be updated on a regular basis, so that any interventions needed at local level can be carried out in a targeted manner.
Professor Elias Mossialos, addressing the mayors and elected officials, stressed that anyone who is not vaccinated will become ill in the near future, since the Delta variant is extremely contagious.
Instead of making vaccination mandatory, he said that we should invest in providing information to convince those who are afraid. “Those who have a negative attitude are only 10%, the rest who don't want to get vaccinated are afraid and we need to educate them,” he said.
Prof. Mossialos pointed out that by the end of July we will have a 60% vaccination rate and a 10% immunity rate due to those who have been ill with the virus, but in order to be safe, to avoid hospital admissions and inevitable deaths, this rate must reach 80% of the population.
During the discussion, reference was made to the important role that the Municipalities play in dealing with the pandemic, but also to the need to strengthen the local government with resources and a new legal framework, so that it can play a more active role in social care and public health.
The President of KEDE, D. Papastergiou, stressed that the Greek Municipalities will stand by citizens at this point of the pandemic, as they have been doing from the very first moment, and will undertake the task of properly informing them, in order to build up the immunity that is so much needed in our country by increasing the number of vaccinations.
KEDE will set up a helpdesk with information and direct answers to citizens' questions, so that everyone can have access to official information. At the same time, and in cooperation with the Ministry of Digital Policy, vaccination data will be updated on a regular basis, so that any interventions needed at local level can be carried out in a targeted manner.
Professor Elias Mossialos, addressing the mayors and elected officials, stressed that anyone who is not vaccinated will become ill in the near future, since the Delta variant is extremely contagious.
Instead of making vaccination mandatory, he said that we should invest in providing information to convince those who are afraid. “Those who have a negative attitude are only 10%, the rest who don't want to get vaccinated are afraid and we need to educate them,” he said.
Prof. Mossialos pointed out that by the end of July we will have a 60% vaccination rate and a 10% immunity rate due to those who have been ill with the virus, but in order to be safe, to avoid hospital admissions and inevitable deaths, this rate must reach 80% of the population.
During the discussion, reference was made to the important role that the Municipalities play in dealing with the pandemic, but also to the need to strengthen the local government with resources and a new legal framework, so that it can play a more active role in social care and public health.
