Cyprus eases COVID-19 vaccination for uninsured foreigners

By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS
Associated Press

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Lekulutu Nsima says he’s a “lucky man” after receiving his first Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine shot against COVID-19. The 33 year-old asylum seeker said that in his native Congo, the government only procured a handful of vaccine doses for one of Africa’s most populous nations, and those are often reserved for the country’s elites. Nsima was one of hundreds of foreign nationals who stood in line on Friday under Cyprus’ searing midsummer sun at the capital’s sole walk-in vaccination center geared toward vaccinating free of charge those who aren’t covered under the country’s national health scheme. On the center’s first day of operation a week ago, 2,555 people without health scheme coverage received a vaccine shot.