Italy: Rome family doctors and pharmacies to give covid-19 vaccines to over-40s

Rome: Family doctors in Rome and the Lazio region will be able to administer covid-19 vaccines to frail patients as well as people aged over 40 from Monday 17 May, reports Italian news agency ANSA.

The online booking system will allow over-40s to be vaccinated at the clinic of their family doctor but only with the AstraZeneca or Johnson & Johnson vaccine, with frail and elderly patients to receive the Pfizer jab.

“Otherwise, the over-40s will have to wait until the booking system opens up to their age group,” at one of the covid vaccination centres in the Lazio region, reads the statement from the federation of general practioners (FIMMG).

Bookings to receive the vaccine from family doctors will be possible using the online booking system on the Lazio region website, from 17 May. Reservations at vaccination hubs in the Lazio region are currently open to those aged over 54.

Later this month pharmacies in the Lazio region will also be able to administer the single-dose J&J vaccine to the under-50s, reports news agency Adnkronos, with bookings open from 20 May and vaccinations beginning on 24 May.

In most cases pharmacies will administer the vaccines in gazebos outside, as is currently the case for covid tests, however some may use indoor spaces, Federfarma vice president Alfredo Procaccini told Adnkronos.

The news was announced today, 11 May, following a meeting between the Lazio region and the regional branch of FIMMG.

Last month Italy’s Superior Health Institute (ISS) recommended AstraZeneca only for people aged over 60, after a brief suspension of the vaccine to allow an investigation into possible links to very rare incidents of blood clots.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) subsequently concluded that the vaccine’s benefits far outweigh the risks of side-effects.