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| - Cyprus expects its first deliveries of Covid-19 vaccines in January as part of the rollout across Europe with Pfizer-BioNTech batches arriving first, officials said Tuesday. "It is the beginning of the end, rather than the end itself," said Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou. The government had hoped vaccines would arrive by the end of December, under the European Union approval and distribution system, but the timetable shifted. "The first batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is expected in January," state medical services deputy head Olga Kalakouta told reporters. Cyprus has ordered around three million doses including from AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, Sanofi and GSK, CureVac, Moderna, Novavax and Janssen. Apart from Janssen, each vaccine requires two injections. Cyprus has seen a recent surge of cases, with the majority of the 82 deaths from Covid-19 occurring in November and December. In the coming weeks, Cyprus expects delivery of 168,000 doses, with the first 48,000 in early January from Pfizer-BioNTech, and then regular deliveries of vaccines every three months. Kalakouta said the target was to vaccinate 350 people a day at 38 vaccination centres. Those given priority will be frontline workers like hospital staff and care home residents, plus vulnerable groups with serious illnesses. Covid-19 vaccines will not be obligatory, Ioannou has said. As an EU member, Cyprus takes part in all agreements signed by the European Commission with the vaccine companies. cc/pjm/fz
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