Italy likely to offer Covid booster jabs to all 'from January'
Everyone in Italy is set to be offered a third dose of an anti-Covid vaccine to help contain the spread of new variants, a government official said on Tuesday.
"It is most likely that a third dose will be necessary for everybody," Deputy Health Minister Pierpaolo Sileri told Radio Capital.
His remarks echoed comments from the president of the national health institute ISS, Silvio Brusaferro, who said 24 hours earlier that the need for third doses for all "couldn't be excluded".
READ ALSO: Which Italian regions have the highest Covid vaccination rates?
Italy is already administering booster shots to patients with fragile immune systems and serious medical conditions, people aged over 60 and health workers.
"I imagine the rest of the population [will follow] from January," Sileri said.
To date, almost 44.5 million people in Italy, or 82.3 percent of those over the age of 12, have been fully vaccinated, and 1.1 million have already received booster shots.
EXPLAINED: Who can access a third dose of the Covid vaccine in Italy?
To boost vaccination rates, Italy has brought in some of the world's strictest measures with health certificates now mandatory for all workers.
The certificate, known as a 'green pass', is also a requirement at many cultural and leisure venues and on long-distance public transport.
The pass is available to everyone who is vaccinated or recently recovered from Covid-19, but can also be obtained by getting a negative test, at the individual's own expense.
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"It is most likely that a third dose will be necessary for everybody," Deputy Health Minister Pierpaolo Sileri told Radio Capital.
His remarks echoed comments from the president of the national health institute ISS, Silvio Brusaferro, who said 24 hours earlier that the need for third doses for all "couldn't be excluded".
READ ALSO: Which Italian regions have the highest Covid vaccination rates?
Italy is already administering booster shots to patients with fragile immune systems and serious medical conditions, people aged over 60 and health workers.
"I imagine the rest of the population [will follow] from January," Sileri said.
To date, almost 44.5 million people in Italy, or 82.3 percent of those over the age of 12, have been fully vaccinated, and 1.1 million have already received booster shots.
EXPLAINED: Who can access a third dose of the Covid vaccine in Italy?
To boost vaccination rates, Italy has brought in some of the world's strictest measures with health certificates now mandatory for all workers.
The certificate, known as a 'green pass', is also a requirement at many cultural and leisure venues and on long-distance public transport.
The pass is available to everyone who is vaccinated or recently recovered from Covid-19, but can also be obtained by getting a negative test, at the individual's own expense.
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