Health Minister Mariliza Xenoyiannakopoulou on Tuesday sent a circular to hospital administrations throughout Greece, outlining the government's plan of action for tackling the H1N1 novel flu pandemic and giving instructions on the administration of H1N1 flu vaccines.

This instructs each hospital on how to set up an Influenza Pandemic Committee that will be put in charge of administering the vaccinations in the hospital and the health centres under their supervision. This will be responsible for taking delivery of the vaccines, ensuring their proper storage and distribution, training of staff and vaccination teams, finding suitable premises and ensuring that these have the necessary equipment, such a refrigerator, desk and telephone.

The circular specifies that kits for training the vaccination teams will be sent by the Hellenic Centre for Infectious Diseases Control (HCIDC) to hospital administrations by November 10.
It also recommends that the vaccination centres in hospitals operate during the afternoons on a daily basis and on weekends when the hospital is not on duty.

The starting date for the vaccination programme has been set for Monday, November 16, and the first week will be devoted to the vaccination of all hospital staff and individuals considered at special risk and whose doctors recommend (in writing) priority vaccination.

Next in line will be at-risk groups that have underlying health problems and are under long-term observation by the hospital in question.

Staff at other health care facilities will be the next to receive the vaccine, beginning with those of private clinics and nursing homes of less than 150 beds, who are asked to get the vaccine from their nearest state hospital by supplying a list of staff that wish to vaccinated.

Private doctors and dentists will receive the vaccine based on lists submitted to their local hospitals by their local medical or dentists' associations.

Private hospitals and clinics of more than 150 beds, such as the Onassis heart surgery centre or the Papageorgiou general hospital, will follow the same protocol as state hospitals.

The HDIDC will be responsible for installing software to monitor the course of the vaccination programme in each hospital vaccination centre, while funds to pay vaccination teams will be taken from its budget.
Hospital administrations have been given until November 5 to inform the ministry that they have set up the influenza pandemic committees and designated a team to take deliver and distribute the vaccines. They then have until November 10 to set up teams for administering the vaccines to the public.