Italy starts with third vaccination

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Italy starts third dose of vaccination against coronavirus. Lazio in central Italy, with Rome as its capital, will be the first Italian region to immunize immunocompromised patients and people considered particularly susceptible. “Starting next week, we will begin vaccinating transplant patients. We will continue to safeguard human lives and the future,” Lazio regional president Nicola Zingaretti said via Facebook on Sunday.

In September, Italy plans to start with people such as oncology and transplant patients and then vaccinate people over the age of 80, nursing home residents and health care workers. Italy has set a goal of vaccinating 80 percent of the population against coronavirus by the end of September. Ten million of Italy’s 60 million people have not yet received a vaccination, according to health officials.

Italy extends mandatory vaccination
Italy, meanwhile, is extending the mandatory vaccination requirement for health care workers. On Thursday, for example, the Council of Ministers approved a decree introducing mandatory vaccination for staff at retirement homes. The measure will also apply to external staff of senior care facilities, such as cleaners, the government said. It was decided to extend the so-called green passport for school cafeteria staff.

Italy had already introduced compulsory vaccination for healthcare personnel in May. The government of Prime Minister Mario Draghi is considering extending the Green Passport to civil servants as well. The Green Passport is a certificate in digital or paper form that shows whether someone has received a Covid 19 vaccination, tested negative or recently recovered from the disease.

The measure is controversial. Most recently, there have been violent protests across Italy against the Corona policy. For the past two months, demonstrations against the green passport have been held on Saturdays in major cities.