Is COVID going around in Greece?

COVID-19 surveillance in Greece is now integrated into EODY's weekly respiratory-virus monitoring. Key indicators include sentinel GP consultations, laboratory positivity, hospitalisations and ICU admissions for severe acute respiratory infection, and variant characterisation at national reference laboratories. Results are published weekly and also reported to ECDC for inclusion in ERVISS.

COVID-19 is endemic in Greece and continues to cause winter hospitalisations, concentrated in older adults and people with chronic or immunosuppressive conditions. Vaccination and prior infections mean most adults experience an illness similar to flu or a heavy cold. Targeted booster campaigns and symptomatic monitoring have replaced general restrictions, and EODY tracks the weekly picture alongside flu and RSV.

COVID-19 in Greece has not settled into a single seasonal rhythm. Winter waves overlapping with flu and RSV are the most consistent pattern, but summer upticks linked to tourism and immune-escape variants have also occurred. Rising positivity and hospital-admission trends are EODY's early-warning signals for a shift from baseline to elevated activity.

EODY recommends seasonal COVID-19 boosters primarily for adults aged 60 and above, people with pre-existing conditions, pregnant women, residents of long-term-care facilities, and healthcare workers. Vaccines are available through pharmacies and vaccination centres at no cost for eligible groups. EODY publishes uptake and virological-surveillance updates in the same weekly cycle.

Yes. Greek laboratories coordinated through EODY continue to sequence SARS-CoV-2 samples from hospital and sentinel cases. Most emerging lineages cause illness comparable to their predecessors, but variants with substantial immune escape can drive larger waves. Greek variant-trend reports feed into ECDC ERVISS for EU-wide context.