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Minister of Health Dimitris Avramopoulos announced on yesterday’s session of the Flu Pandemic Commission that the vaccination of all risk groups against swine flu will start in twenty days.

The minister clarified that the ones, who want to be vaccinated will not have to sign an agreement declaration form. Finally, Greece gave up on the decision to set a mandatory declaration as it was recommended by the European Medical Agency, which offered to follow the applied practice in the past. Signing such declaration awakens people’s insecurities about the vaccine and it can make some groups refuse vaccination.

The European Commission approved the pharmaceutical companies Novartis and Glaxo, which produce the vaccine against swine flu, and they will start distributing it throughout all Europe, including Greece. Until now 100 000 vaccines have arrived in the country, which are being kept in the National Health Center in Vari. It is expected that another 100 000 vaccines will arrive during the following days.

Meanwhile Athens municipality director Yannis Sgouros decided that two more schools will close from today – the American College and the Greek-American educational center in Athens, because there are some swine flu infected people. Six people were diagnosed with the H1N1 virus in the American College and another 53 are missing from school with the swine flu symptoms. Five people have gone sick from the Greek-American educational center and another 43 students are missing, because they have the new flu symptoms.

“We should not panic. We are almost certain that other schools will also make the same decisions,” said Mr. Sgouros. The schools in Melisia and Haydari, which closed yesterday, will not re-open until next week. Experts are discussing new measures for limiting the dissemination of the flu apart from closing schools.