A 117-year-old Greek yiayia in Western Athens will finally be able to hug her children in 20 days after receiving the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday.
According to Keep Talking Greece, Mrs Eleftheria is a resident at a care home for elderly in Nea Ionia. In Greece, visits to aged care homes by family members have been banned for months due to the pandemic.
Vaccination was not mandatory, yet Mrs Eleftheria wanted to receive it because it increased her chances of finally hugging her family again. The doctor of the facility considered that the health condition of the Mrs Eleftheria allowed her to be vaccinated as she wished.
The vaccination took place with no complications, with the aged care resident now reportedly waiting for another 20 days in order to receive the second dose of the vaccine.
Mrs Eleftheria was born on 12th of April, 1903, on the island of Lefkada, being three months younger than the Guinness Book of World Records’ oldest women in the world.
Vaccination of aged care residents and staff was labelled a high priority by the Greek government. By the end of the week, more than 4,500 people in 75 facilities are expected to be vaccinated.
