The coverage campaign starts and the requests are immediately a lot but the party is missing what could be the key guest. That is the vaccine of AstraZeneca. This week all the Regions are opening up to administrations to the fifties, the most active age group of those protected so far, who want to get safe even in view of the summer holidays. However, the Ministry, the Higher Council of Health and Aifa have suggested the use of the AstraZeneca drug from 60 years of age, after stopping the administration for some suspected cases of an adverse thrombotic reaction. And so the many unused doses of that vaccine cannot be used for those aged 50 to 59.
Vaccines, three million doses arrive. Time for over 50s: an assault on bookings
by Alessandra Ziniti
The push for a turnaround two months later
The emergency commissioner structure, led by the general Francesco Figliuolo, is putting pressure on the Ministry of Health to give the green light to the change but the technicians have not yet found an agreement. They are not all convinced to open and so the AstraZeneca dilemma continues. It would be a question of disavowing what was argued on March 18, that is the suggestion to the over 60s. Cases of suspected adverse reactions are very rare, however, and in particular seem to concern more young women, between 30 and 40 years old. That said, EMA, the European pharmaceutical agency, did not at the time give any kind of age restriction to the use of AstraZeneca. Not even the CTS, Technical Scientific Commission, of Aifa, that is the body that deals with the approval of drugs, did it. They were ministry, Higher Health Council (ie President Franco Locatelli) and Nicola Magrini, director of Aifa, to suggest the vaccine only to those over 60, making a decision similar to that of other European countries.
The steering of Figliuolo. “Doses to the fifties, otherwise we jam”
by Alessandra Ziniti
Stocks in the warehouse
In some regions, particularly in the South, there are hundreds of thousands of unused AstraZeneca vaccines. In fact, many avoid them and rather than do them remain uncovered. The problem is also looming in Lazio, where citizens have practically been given the opportunity to choose what to be administered because it was decided to create hubs where only one type of vaccine is used. Just book in that center to get the drug you prefer, mainly Pfizer and Moderna. In the North, on the other hand, there are far fewer problems and indeed some presidents have asked that the vials of the Regions that have their warehouses still full be delivered to them. General Figliuolo said that it cannot be done even if he has opened up to the displacement of some doses from Sicily to Puglia.
From Monday vaccines throughout Italy also for the fifties. The lowering of the age for AstraZeneca is expected
by Alessandra Ziniti
The race of the Lombards
And at 10.15 this morning the bookings for the anti Covid-19 vaccine of 50-year-olds in Lombardy had already exceeded 500 thousand. This is a third of the population of that age. “Lombardy is running. Extraordinary membership. More vaccines are needed”, President Attilio Fontana wrote on twitter.
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