The health authority of the town of La Spezia, northern Italy, included homosexuals in the vaccination protocol against covid-19, which he characterized as risky and priority individuals, generating controversy and criticism at the national level.
The controversy arose when Ferrucio Sansa, a candidate supported by the Democratic Party (PD, center-left) and the 5 Star Movement (M5S) in the 2020 regional elections in Liguria, condemned the local health authorities for including homosexuals on the list of “people” with risky behaviors, alongside drug addicts and others related to prostitution “.
The registration form was distributed by citizens as part of the national vaccination campaign against the new coronavirus, in order to manage the vaccine stocks destined for priority groups.
The complaints came immediately and Senator Monica Cirinnà, a promoter of the law that recognizes civil unions between homosexuals since 2016, said it was “unacceptable” for a reference to homosexuality to appear among risky behaviors as a way to access any health service.
“It is a serious violation of personal dignity, a sign of a culture that is still very widespread and that tends to stigmatize homosexuality,” said Cirinnà.
The director of the local health entity, Paolo Cavagnaro, has already apologized. “It is a clear mistake, we recognize it, that we are also trying to find an explanation, so we can only apologize,” he said.
The case took shape this Thursday when it was discovered that the form had been removed directly from the Italian Ministry of Health portal last October.
The president of the Ligurian region, conservative Giovanni Toti, described the situation as “incredible and shameful” and accused the opposition of wanting to create confusion without first checking the facts.
“As for the incredible and shameful inclusion of homosexuals among ‘subjects as risk factors’ for vaccination priorities, it was found that, after a first internal investigation, the error originates in a copy of ministerial guidelines. Obviously, this multiplies the error, although it doesn’t eliminate it “, wrote Toti on his Facebook page.
“All of this gives me reason for the total incapacity, ignorance, bad faith and clumsiness on the part of the opposition in Liguria, which continues to accuse me without investigating or investigating what happened before,” added Toti, in a reference to Sansa , who was the one who detected the error.
In a statement, the Ministry of Health explained that “only behavior determines people’s risk and not their sexual orientation” and acknowledged that it was “an old document used for blood donations”.
“Ministerial documents of old and outdated forms will be corrected immediately,” added the Italian government.
– .