After receiving the vaccine against Covid-19 on Tuesday, a 117-year-old Greek woman became the second-oldest person in the world to become inoculated against the virus.
The woman, referred to only as Eleftheria, was born on the island of Lefkada in April of 1903.
She received the long-awaited vaccine in the care home where she lives in the Athenian suburb of Nea Ionia.
The beloved grandmother eagerly awaited the shot, as she hoped to see and embrace her children and grandchildren in the near future, without fear of becoming ill with the virus.
After her doctor approved her for the inoculation, determining that the woman was in very good health, Eleftheria became the second oldest person in the world to receive the vaccine.
The oldest person to be inoculated against Covid-19 is a woman from Japan, just three months older than the Greek grandmother.
In 20 days, Eleftheria will receive the second dose of the vaccine, allowing her to visit her family without any anxiety, after being apart from them for so long.
The vaccine in Greece
After healthcare workers, those living in long-term care facilities, like Eleftheria, were next in line to receive the vaccine against Covid-19 in Greece.
Vaccinations for this group began in early January in Greece’s two largest cities, Athens and Thessaloniki. The first person to be vaccinated in Thessaloniki’s care homes was a 98-year-old Holocaust survivor named Zana Santicario-Satsoglou.
Greece hopes to inoculate two million citizens against the coronavirus by the end of March, PM Mitsotakis stated in a television interview with journalist Nikos Hatzinikolaou on Tuesday evening.
As of Wednesday, over 65,000 Greeks had received the shot against the coronavirus.
The country received its first shipment of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by US-based biotech company Moderna on Wednesday.
Greece received a total of 8,000 doses of the vaccine on Wednesday, adding to the country’s supply of inoculations from US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and pushing the country toward its vaccination goals.
By the end of January, Greece is expected to receive a total of 20,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine.
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