Illustrative stock photo (source: TASR)
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Anyone older than 16 years of age will be able to register for Covid vaccination from Thursday, April 29, said Health Minister Vladimír Lengvarský (OĽaNO nominee) during the political talk show Na Telo Plus.
People will register via the virtual waiting room. Currently, the system allows for the registration of people older than 40, plus some special groups including healthcare employees, nursing homes staff, in-field workers and people working at mobile testing sites.
The vaccination strategy originally stipulated that the bottom limit for vaccination will be 18 years, but Lengvarský said that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has already approved the administration of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines also to people older than 16.
New ordinance in pipeline
People who register via the online system will receive an appointment based on their age or disease.
It will not be possible to choose the vaccine yet, mostly given the current state of supplies, Lengvarský explained. Slovakia should receive 1 million Pfizer vaccines by the end of May.
The minister has previously said that anyone who wants to be vaccinated should be able to get a jab by the end of June.
Slovakia is currently administering vaccines by Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca. Although the Johnson & Johnson vaccines have been delivered to Slovakia as well, the roll-out has not started.
The ministry is working on a new ordinance that will allow for the vaccination of people who accompany those older than 70 to vaccination.
People suffering from various chronic diseases should also be given preference in the system. The changes are expected to become effective on May 1, though they have not been approved.
Sputnik V returning to Russia for more tests
Slovakia has also received the batches of the Russian vaccines Sputnik V, which have not been registered by EMA, but Lengvarský does not expect them to be administered for at least fanother month.
The reason is that the Russians have asked for the return of the vaccines samples currently in Slovakia, so that they can be checked in their own labs.
Russia will take altogether 600 vaccines samples, 300 from the first batch and 300 from the second one, on April 29, Lengvarský added.
The final decision on administering the vaccines will be made only after these tests are completed, he said.
