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COVID-19 VACCINES

Covid-19: Which regions in Italy have already met national vaccination targets?

As Italy's deadline for vaccinating 80 percent of the population by the end of September draws near, how do the individual regions compare? Here are the areas that have already surpassed the national target - and the ones that fall short.

Covid-19: Which regions in Italy have already met national vaccination targets?
Photo: Tiziana FABI / AFP

With just two full days left in September, all eyes are on the vaccination rollout as authorities continue administering doses of the anti-Covid vaccine at a consistent pace.

Italy pledged back in March to vaccinate 80 percent of the eligible population by September 30th – a target that the government was confident of meeting in August.

Vaccination coverage is one of the key factors the health ministry will take into account later this week when deciding on upcoming changes to the coronavirus restrictions.

The government may allow some businesses to relax Covid restrictions further for those with a green pass, while it is also considering whether to make vaccinations mandatory for more groups.

READ ALSO: Why September will be the ‘decisive’ month for Italy’s Covid vaccination campaign

Just under 78 percent of the entire population over 12 years old have now completed their vaccination cycle, according to the latest government figures on Tuesday.

So with just two percent to go, Italy is approaching its vaccination goal – but might fall just shy of the mark.

The latest seven-day moving average of doses administered daily in Italy is 214,202. Of these, 953 are single doses.

At this rate, it would take four days to reach 80 percent coverage of the eligible population, meaning the target would be achieved on October 2nd, according to estimates by newspaper Il sole 24 Ore.

Photo: Alberto Pizzoli / AFP

The forecast means Italy is roughly on track nationally, but what about the regional differences?

Five of Italy’s 21 regions and autonomous provinces have already surpassed the national benchmark, including Lazio (82%), Lombardy (81.6%), Molise (81.3%), Puglia (81.3%) and Emilia Romagna (80.7%).

READ ALSO: Almost all hospitalised Covid-19 patients in Italy are unvaccinated, says health watchdog

Out of these regional averages, some municipalities could be even further ahead or lag behind.

The ‘comune’ of Malalbergo in Emilia Romagna, for example, has now reached 80 percent coverage – already meeting the national target, but just slightly behind its regional average.

The rest of Italy’s regions are still behind the 80 percent national target, although another five regions are ahead of the current nationwide average of 78 percent, including Basilicata (79.7%), Umbria (79.7%), Tuscany (78.3%), Abruzzo (78.1%) and Veneto (78.1%).

Some 11 regions are behind the national average, with Sicily coming in at last place for its percentage of vaccinated population at just 69.9%.

This region also ranks the highest for the percentage of eligible people yet to have received a single dose - reaching almost a quarter of Sicily's population at 24.2%.

It's closely followed by the autonomous province of Bolzano, where 23.6% of the eligible population are still to receive a single dose and the regional average for a completed vaccination cycle is 71.4%.

Sicily also ranks the lowest for the amount of over 80s vaccinated, with 78.7% of this age group now completely vaccinated.

Emilia Romagna, meanwhile, tops the table for this category with 97.7% of the over 80s fully immunised.

While Italy works to meet its vaccination targets, it has already begun administering a third booster dose to those most at risk of the disease, extending it further to the over 80s and those in care homes from Tuesday.

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COVID-19 RULES

Italy allows suspended anti-vax doctors to return to work

Italian heathcare staff suspended over their refusal to be vaccinated against Covid-19 can now return to work, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni confirmed on Monday.

Italy allows suspended anti-vax doctors to return to work

Italy become the first country in Europe to make it obligatory for healthcare workers to be vaccinated, ruling in 2021 that they must have the jab or be transferred to other roles or suspended without pay.

That obligation had been set to expire in December, but was brought forward to Tuesday due to “a shortage of medical and health personnel”, Health Minister Orazio Schillaci said.

READ ALSO: Is Italy’s government planning to scrap all Covid measures?

Italy was the first European country to be hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020, and has since registered nearly 180,000 deaths.

Schillaci first announced the plan to scrap the rule on Friday in a statement saying data showed the virus’ impact on hospitals  “is now limited”.

Those who refuse vaccination will be “reintegrated” into the workforce before the rule expires at the end of this year, as part of what the minister called a “gradual return to normality”.

Meloni said the move, which has been criticised by the centre-left as a win for anti-vax campaigners, would mean some 4,000 healthcare workers can return to work.

This includes some 1,579 doctors and dentists refusing vaccination, according to records at the end of October, representing 0.3 percent of all those registered with Italy’s National Federation of the Orders of Physicians, Surgeons and Dentists (Fnomceo) 

Meloni’s post-fascist Brothers of Italy party railed against the way Mario Draghi’s government handled the pandemic, when it was the main opposition party, and she promised to use her first cabinet meetings to mark a clear break in policies with her predecessor.

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