– I can say that they have vaccinated the wrong people. They have vaccinated me.
That’s what 37-year-old Mateo Villa, a researcher at the Italian Institute for International Political Studies, says The Washington Post.
He is among those who are now sounding the alarm about the Italian vaccine program.
The researcher estimates that the vaccination has saved 4,000 lives – but that the number could have been closer to 12,000 with a more appropriate distribution of the doses.
New record day in Brazil: – Collapses
On Wednesday, according to the newspaper, the country registered 627 corona deaths, the highest since January.
The death toll has not fallen in three and a half months, despite the fact that the country has received the same vaccine shares as other European countries during this period.
– Things have not been done correctly in the last three months. It’s quite clear. Then we would not have had 300 to 400 deaths every day, as we have now, says immunologist Sergio Abrignani to The Washington Post. He is a member of a professional committee that advises the Italian government.
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Prime Minister: – End
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi acknowledges that there is a need for a change in the vaccination program. He came earlier this week with a clear call:
– Stop vaccinating people under 60. Stop vaccinating the younger ones! With what conscience can you sneak into the queue, when you know that you expose someone over 75 to a fatal risk? he stated on Thursday during a press conference, according to the news agency Reuters.
As early as March 24, the Prime Minister raised the issue in a speech to the Italian Senate.
Here he thundered against several of the country’s regions, which he accused of not complying with the guidelines of the Italian Ministry of Health.
– Some regions neglect the elderly in favor of groups that claim priority, he said then, according to the news agency AP.
Italian regions have a large degree of autonomy over local health care, writes the news agency.
In the Molise region, journalists have been given priority in the vaccine queue, while lawyers have been given priority in Sicily.
Countered after death: – Lying
Loss of human life
National statistics shows that only 2.2 percent of Italians in their 70s are fully vaccinated. It is one of the lowest shares among EU countries.
The figures show that a higher proportion of people in their 20s and 30s have been fully vaccinated.
In addition, 250,000 people in these age groups are vaccinated even though they do not belong to essential occupational groups. At the same time, the average age of the deceased has fallen from 81 to 79 years.
In the first phase of vaccination, the country consistently prioritized health workers, while a number of other countries prioritized the elderly, and vaccinated health workers in the front line in parallel. In March, still the fewest Italians in their 80s were vaccinated.
Now it is urgent to make up for the lag of unvaccinated elderly, experts believe.
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“Every minute this delay continues leads to dramatic loss of life,” Piero Raganzzini, who heads an Italian association for the elderly, told The Washington Post.
Mandatory testing
Will punish the police
On April 7, the Italian health authorities recommended that the AstraZeneca vaccine be given only to people over 60 – but that younger people who have taken the first dose can take the second dose, according to Reuters.
Previously, however, the vaccine was only recommended for Italians under 55. Efforts to reverse this strategy have not been fast enough, according to experts.
On 31 March, Italy became the first country in Europe to introduce compulsory vaccination for healthcare professionals. Those who oppose vaccination can be suspended without pay for the rest of the year, writes Reuters.
Italy was also the first European country to be affected by major outbreaks of the coronavirus, and the first to introduce extensive closure as a measure against the infection.
According to figures from the site Worldometers The country has registered 3,736,526 cases of infection, and 113,579 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
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