Greece, which has imposed some of the strictest measures anywhere in the world in response to COVID, is set to impose mandatory vaccination for all citizens over the age of 60 and to levy a monthly fine on senior citizens who refuse the vaccine.
It was a crisp Saturday night in November. Outside the historic Rex Theater in central Athens, Greece, a line formed of people waiting to see a theatrical performance of George Orwell’s “Animal Farm.”
Everything appeared normal until one took a closer look. Everyone in the queue was waiting to have their COVID “Green Pass” scanned in order to enter the theater, as access to such spaces in Greece is restricted to the vaccinated — and those who have recovered from COVID in the past three months.
What would Orwell have thought?
Now, Greece, a country which has imposed some of the strictest measures anywhere in the world in response to COVID, is set to impose mandatory vaccination for all citizens over the age of 60 and to levy a monthly fine on senior citizens who refuse the vaccine.
The new policy proposes a monthly fine of €100 ($113) for seniors who don’t comply by Jan. 15, 2022.
These measures were passed last week by the Greek parliament. According to the prime minister, the revenue from fines will be used to “enhance” the national health system, although many of the same politicians who support the mandate have a track record of imposing severe cuts to Greece’s health system.
With this measure, Greece became only the second European country to impose mandatory vaccination for sections of the general population, imposed by fines. Austria was the first, with fines set to be imposed beginning in February.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the decision “tortured” him but that it showed support for the most vulnerable, even if it might momentarily “displease them.”
As of this writing, 64% of Greece’s population has been fully vaccinated — under current rules, that is, which consider those who have received two doses of the Pfizer, Moderna or AstraZeneca vaccines, or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, as ‘fully’ vaccinated.
The European Union (EU) recently proposed changing the definition of “fully vaccinated” to refer to those who received a booster dose.
As stated by Akis Skertsos, minister of state responsible for the coordination of government policies, this new policy, and the rest of the government’s strict measures, are intended to act as an indirect means of obliging citizens to get vaccinated.
The government further justified the mandate by releasing data indicating 490,000 individuals in Greece over the age of 60 have not been vaccinated.
The amendment passed parliament not just with the votes of the ruling center-right New Democracy party, which alone would have been enough to secure a majority. The “democratic socialist” Movement of Change (KINAL) party, which is the successor to the PASOK party which long governed Greece, also voted in favor of mandatory vaccinations for those over 60.
Greece also reduced the interval before an individual can receive a COVID booster shot to three months.
Natural immunity, in turn, will now be recognized for only three months, down from six months previously.
While the government justifies such measures as a necessary means of protecting public health, the measures are being implemented by politicians with an extensive track record of decimating Greece’s public health infrastructure, as well as far-right ties.
EU member states increasingly imposing vaccine mandates
Recently, Austria paved the way for mandatory vaccinations, requiring its entire population to get vaccinated by February or face hefty fines or the threat of imprisonment.
The fines exceed the amount recently levied on an Austrian doctor who amputated the wrong leg of a patient.
Germany followed suit, announcing a policy and timeline similar to Austria’s.
Several other European countries imposed vaccination on specific professions, including healthcare workers, police officers and teachers.
Germany imposed a “lockdown of the unvaccinated,” restricting their access to businesses and public spaces.
Now, the EU may be setting the stage for mandatory vaccination throughout the 27-nation bloc, signaling the green light for more governments that may be eager to impose mandatory vaccinations in their nations.
On Dec. 1, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stated it is time to “potentially think about mandatory vaccination within the European Union” and to have a “discussion” about this possibility.
She further stated:
“If you’re asking me what my personal position is? Two or three years ago, I would never have thought to witness what we see right now, that we have this horrible pandemic, we have the vaccines, the life saving vaccines, but they are not being used adequately everywhere.
“And thus, these costs, of course, an enormous, or this is an enormous health cost coming along.
“If you look at the numbers we have now 77% of the adults in the European Union vaccinated or if you take the whole population, it’s 66%. And this means 1/3 of the European population is not vaccinated. These are 150 million people. This is a lot.”
Von der Leyen made these remarks in response to a question posed by a reporter from the Greek state-owned Athens News Agency-Macedonia Press Agency.
That same day, the Greek government announced its vaccine mandate for those over 60.
Notably, Greece was the first European country to propose the implementation of a vaccine passport, a proposal eventually adopted as the EU’s “Green Pass,” while Greece was also the first EU member state to adopt a digital “COVID passport.”
More recently, Greece was the first EU member state to push the EU to add booster shots to the vaccine passport regime.
TheEuropean Union (EU) recently proposed changing the definition of “fully vaccinated” to refer to those who received a booster dose.
As stated by Akis Skertsos, minister of state responsible for the coordination of government policies, this new policy, and the rest of the government’s strict measures, are intended to act as an indirect means of obliging citizens to get vaccinated.
The government further justified the mandate by releasing data indicating 490,000 individuals in Greece over the age of 60 have not been vaccinated.
The amendment passed parliament not just with the votes of the ruling center-right New Democracy party, which alone would have been enough to secure a majority. The “democratic socialist” Movement of Change (KINAL) party, which is the successor to the PASOK party which long governed Greece, also voted in favor of mandatory vaccinations for those over 60.
Greece also reduced the interval before an individual can receive a COVID booster shot to three months.
Natural immunity, in turn, will now be recognized for only three months, down from six months previously.
While the government justifies such measures as a necessary means of protecting public health, the measures are being implemented by politicians with an extensive track record of decimating Greece’s public health infrastructure, as well as far-right ties.
EU member states increasingly imposing vaccine mandates
Recently, Austria paved the way for mandatory vaccinations, requiring its entire population to get vaccinated by February or face hefty fines or the threat of imprisonment.
The fines exceed the amount recently levied on an Austrian doctor who amputated the wrong leg of a patient.
Germany followed suit, announcing a policy and timeline similar to Austria’s.
Several other European countries imposed vaccination on specific professions, including healthcare workers, police officers and teachers.
Germany imposed a “lockdown of the unvaccinated,” restricting their access to businesses and public spaces.
Now, the EU may be setting the stage for mandatory vaccination throughout the 27-nation bloc, signaling the green light for more governments that may be eager to impose mandatory vaccinations in their nations.
On Dec. 1, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stated it is time to “potentially think about mandatory vaccination within the European Union” and to have a “discussion” about this possibility.
She further stated:
“If you’re asking me what my personal position is? Two or three years ago, I would never have thought to witness what we see right now, that we have this horrible pandemic, we have the vaccines, the life-saving vaccines, but they are not being used adequately everywhere.
“And thus, these costs, of course, an enormous, or this is an enormous health cost coming along.
“If you look at the numbers we have now 77% of the adults in the European Union vaccinated or if you take the whole population, it’s 66%. And this means 1/3 of the European population is not vaccinated. These are 150 million people. This is a lot.”
Von der Leyen made these remarks in response to a question posed by a reporter from the Greek state-owned Athens News Agency-Macedonia Press Agency.
That same day, the Greek government announced its vaccine mandate for those over 60.
Notably, Greece was the first European country to propose the implementation of a vaccine passport, a proposal eventually adopted as the EU’s “Green Pass,” while Greece was also the first EU member state to adopt a digital “COVID passport.”
More recently, Greece was the first EU member state to push the EU to add booster shots to the vaccine passport regime.
Reactions to the mandate in Greece
The Greek prime minister’s announcement of the mandate led to a storm of responses on social media, including Twitter. Many of these tweets expressed their opposition to this measure.
For instance, one such tweet stated:
“So, even though I am fully vaccinated, the measure of fining the non-vaccinated 100 euro is inexcusable. Who is going to be convinced to get vaccinated when they are being blackmailed? A response from the non-vaccinated is being provoked by the bums.”
Another tweet read:
“A 100 euro per month fine for the non-vaccinated over 60… even us who are vaccinated have begun to become ashamed of you.” [referring to the prime minister]
In still another tweet:
“My father suffered a stroke the day he received his second dose (coincidence?). His right arm is disabled and he pays 50 euro a week out of a pocket for physical therapy. Koulis [a popular nickname for the prime minister] can stick the 100 euros up his behind. I regret voting for him.”
Other tweets drew comparisons to the Greek military junta of 1967-1974 — called the measure the death of democracy in Greece — to the meager pensions many seniors receive and the cuts made by the current government to those pensions.
On the other hand, mainstream media newscasts and “man-on-the-street” interviews created a perception of broader acceptance of this new mandate.
Notably, COVID-related coverage by Greek media outlets has been bolstered by €40 million in state subsidies, disbursed in two packages of €20 million each.
As of this writing, there have been few visible protests of any kind in Greece against these new measures, other than small weekly gatherings of healthcare workers placed on unpaid leave.
Generally, protests against measures related to COVID in Greece have been limited and small in scale, paling in comparison to large protests seen in countries such as Italy, Germany, The Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom. This despite a lingering stereotype that Greece is a country where people take to the streets regularly to protest.
Characteristic of public response in Greece, Greece’s restaurant sector was asked to implement the COVID passport regime barring entry to the unvaccinated in indoor spaces, and only allowing those with a recent negative rapid test result to sit in outdoor spaces.
The sector’s trade organization recently organized a nationwide 24-hour strike, not to oppose restrictions on the non-vaccinated, but to request more financial support from the state and to request that only unvaccinated patrons found to be violating these measures be fined, and not the businesses themselves.
The restaurant industry has judiciously enforced the vaccine pass mandate thus far, as has the retail sector, in a country which is frequently stereotyped as not being “law-abiding.”
The Greek government itself remarked on the tepid opposition to COVID-related restrictions. In February, then-health minister Vasilis Kikilias said “there are huge problems in other countries with the opposition to the measures … this is not happening in Greece.”
(The Defender)
