With the staff and resources we had, but also taking advantage of the surplus of social solidarity and offer of thousands of volunteers and companies, we supported vulnerable population groups across the country and also, small local businesses. We ensured the smooth operation of our cities and contributed to the extent appropriate to us, in the implementation of preventive measures to prevent the spread of covid, according to the recommendations of the competent State authorities and the expert scientists.
Today, at the center of the discussion for the next day and the gradual return of all of us to normalcy is the need to deal with the pandemic and its fourth wave, which seems to be coming, the Municipalities will do whatever it takes to achieve the increase of the percentage vaccination of citizens across the country to build the necessary firewall. It’s the first time that the assistance of the Local Authorities has been requested in the issue of vaccination and in this request, we will respond consistently and responsibly, as we have done all the previous period.
We believe that since there is now a sufficient supply of vaccines, when every citizen is offered a full choice of vaccine, when now we have mobile units at our disposal that enable us to vaccinate citizens who cannot move for health or distance reasons, there is no excuse for areas with such unequal distributions in vaccination rates, even if the official vaccination rates per Geographical Region and Municipality, probably need to be verified.
In this context and after the Prime Minister K. Mitsotakis‘s call, for Local Authorities to participate, Municipalities and Regions in the effort to increase the number of citizens who will be vaccinated, we are ready to intervene, to say things in their name, to talk even more with the citizens, to listen to their anxieties and concerns and to convince all those who are not yet convinced, with scientific arguments.
We will once again do our duty to our local communities, given that until today, anyway, Municipalities and Regions didn’t have a strategic role in planning vaccination policy, which is the responsibility of the Ministry of Health.