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Italy may follow UK’s example on mass vaccination: Report
PM Mario Draghi's govt is about to accelerate Italy’s Covid-19 vaccination program, Italian daily La Stampa reported.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s administration is about to accelerate Italy’s Covid-19 vaccination program, taking inspiration from the U.K. campaign, in an effort to contain the outbreak of the coronavirus, La Stampa daily reported on Sunday, without citing sources.
Also Read | UK to speed Covid-19 vaccine program, to offer shots to all adults by July-end
According to the paper, in a cabinet meeting on Monday, the newly appointed Italian government will follow the example of Boris Johnson’s government and proceed with a mass vaccination using all available doses, without setting aside some of the vaccines for second shots.
So far, more than 17 million people have been inoculated in the U.K., around 30% of the adult population, making Britain a world leader in Covid vaccinations, compared with about 3.5 million in Italy.
On Saturday, Italy’s regional governors asked the government to increase efforts to find more vaccine doses. According to a statement by Councillor for Health of the Lazio Region Alessio D’Amato, AstraZeneca Plc has announced a cut in the next vaccine deliveries to the region of about 9,000 doses.
In order to speed up the vaccination campaign, Italy may consider using all possible locations, public and private, including railway stations and parking areas, Corriere della Sera reported on Sunday.
According to the paper, Monday’s cabinet meeting will also decide to extend to beyond March 5 a ban on people’s movement between regions, due to expire on Feb. 25, and will discuss more measures and restrictions to contain the pandemic outbreak in the country. Italy has suffered more than 95,000 deaths from Covid-19.
