Greek premier urges vaccine boosters for travelers over 60 years old

ANKARA

The Greek prime minister Wednesday urged the EU countries to make vaccination boosters an obligatory travel requirement for people aged 60 and above.

Many European countries are experiencing a surge in COVID-19 infections despite successful vaccination campaigns, said Kyriakos Mitsotakis in a letter to the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

The resurgence could be due to the more infectious Delta variant of the virus and the waning protection provided by the vaccines administered hitherto, he added.

Mitsotakis maintained that the third dose proved effective in preventing the COVID-19 cases and fatalities, proposing that the third dose of the vaccine be considered as a condition for safe travel within the EU for citizens over 60 years old.

“This should be reflected in the European digital certificate, which proved to be a collective success that further enabled our safe return to travel from country to country,” Mitsotakis said.

He added this step would help the EU countries efficiently tackle a heavy winter wave of hospitalizations and prevent restrictions, which could undermine EU economies and the freedom of movement in the bloc.