Italy Covid vaccination drive ahead of EU average says Draghi

Rome: Italy’s vaccination campaign is moving faster than the EU average, the Italian premier Mario Draghi said in the senate on Wednesday.

Speaking ahead of the European Council summit on 20-21 October, Draghi said that as of today 86 per cent of the Italian population over the age of 12 has had at least one dose of the covid vaccine while 81 per cent are fully vaccinated.

“After a slow start, the European vaccination campaign has achieved very satisfactory results”, Draghi said, with “almost four out of five adults” in the EU having at least one dose of the vaccine.

Draghi thanked “all citizens who have chosen to be vaccinated, especially the young and very young, and those who have decided to do so in recent weeks after overcoming their hesitations.”

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He also paid tribute to “the commitment of doctors and nurses” in the fight against covid, to applause from the senate chamber, before underlining: “The epidemiological curve is under control thanks to citizens’ sense of responsibility. This allows us to keep schools, businesses and places where we socialise open.”

Draghi praised Italy’s “extraordinary” vaccination effort, saying: “We must be grateful to our health system and to the enormous logistical work carried out since the beginning of this government.”

The prime minister also said the European Council “must increase the supply of doses to the most fragile countries, so that they can protect their citizens and to prevent the emergence and spread of new and dangerous variants.”