Silvia Pol at the trial: «That afternoon I observed her more carefully than usual and I realized that the needle was not inserted completely. He inserted it for a couple of millimeters, but then the plunger didn’t reach the bottom “
PORDENONE. “That afternoon I watched her more closely than usual. It wasn’t easy, because he covered the syringe with his left hand. But when I could see what he was doing with his right, I realized that the needle was not fully inserted. Yes, let’s say he slipped it in for a couple of millimeters, to let the dot be seen, but then the plunger didn’t reach the bottom. Here, at that point I went into confusion. I was incredulous and continued to take care of the medical history. But as soon as he left, I found liquid among the rubbish both in the syringes and in the bottles thrown away after administration, and on the walls of the bin itself.
Silvia Pol had known Emanuela Petrillo since her university days. The same course of study and, then, the same job: the district of Spresiano, in the province of Treviso. Where in 2016 they crossed twice, in February and June, side by side with the qualification of health assistants in vaccination operations on children and adolescents. It was precisely from the suspicions matured in the second session, promptly reported to the head of department, that that summer the judicial investigation began, culminating in the process underway before the collegiate court of Udine for the hypothesis of the crime of forgery, omission of official documents and peculated between Friuli and Veneto.
Suspended and then fired for just cause, 35-year-old Petrillo, who became a mother about twenty days ago and has never been present in court so far, has always proclaimed herself innocent, claiming to be the victim of a conspiracy and rejecting any “no vax” label.
In the hearing on Tuesday, meanwhile, it was the former colleague who allegedly caught her in the act of recalling the episode that gave the start to the investigation.
“In the clinic there was only her, who had the task of administering the vaccines, and I, who instead took the anamnesis – said the witness, answering the questions of the acting prosecutor Claudia Danelon -. On both occasions, I did not hear the children cry. But this, at least in February, did not strike me, because it was known that there was no reaction with her. It was in June, when I approached to locate the injection site, that I realized that the needle remained on the surface ».
It is not enough.
“I noticed that he tended to go from the trolley, where he prepared the vaccine, to the desk, where the patient sat, keeping his hand behind his back – he added – and that, throwing the syringe, he made a moment as to empty it of its contents”.
Pure “science fiction”, so the witness defined the behavior of the former colleague, replying to her defender, lawyer Paolo Salandin, who objected that he had not asked her for immediate explanations. “I was unprepared and did not know how to handle the situation – he said -. Emanuela had the same seniority as me and that could not have been a simple mistake ».
The confirmation had come from the check made the same evening, together with another colleague, rummaging in the waste bin. And to follow – according to the accusation – by the slew of cases of disease complained by as many parents. Two, cited by the plaintiffs, testified yesterday: the mother of a child who, after the session with Petrillo, in Treviso, contracted measles anyway, and the father of a boy from Codroipo who lived ill for five months with whooping cough. “It was an absolute novelty,” said Andrea Iob, head of preventive medicine in Gemona involved in the task force set up by Asufc to deal with the emergency. “Having found that the children did not have antibodies – he recalled -, we prepared a calendar for 5,400 with dubious vaccinations”.
Numbers that the lawyer Salandin recalled “not be supported by timely checks even with respect to the operator who performed the administrations”. But that give the idea of the “panic” that the scandal generated.
“The news had a devastating effect both on us, who were a very united group and felt betrayed – said Stefano Miceli, at the time coordinator of the Udine health assistants – and on the population, who lost faith in our work. . Some parents even asked us to be able to film the vaccination act, to be sure it was done ».
Next hearing on June 22, with other texts and the possible examination of the accused.
taken from the Messaggero Veneto