In Italy, the two million third doses administered have been exceeded, but it is necessary to speed up with reminders
. In a phase, as underlined by the Minister of Health, Roberto Speranza, "of the resurgence of the virus like the one we are witnessing at European level". Italy currently enjoys some advantage over other countries and continues on the strategy outlined, with a "successful" vaccination campaign, close to 90% of first doses, with the Green pass and prevention and safety measures such as bezels and spacing. "Thanks to the measures and now to the vaccines - says the Director General of Prevention of the Ministry of Health, Giovanni Rezza - we have avoided the great wave, the one that would have saturated the hospitals, would have congested them, would have caused many deaths not only because of Covid directly ", intervened at the Festival of Medical Science in Bologna.
The Delta variant has certainly complicated things in recent months of the vaccination campaign with its increased contagiousness
. Hence the need, and the experts reiterate it, from Walter Ricciardi, advisor to the Minister of Health, to the president of the ISS, Silvio Brusaferro, who participated in the XIX National Convention of Health Law at the Cattolica in Milan, to continue to hold watch out for the circulation of the virus. And Italy remains white. Intensive care and hospitalizations in the medical area, even if the national rate rises to 4% and 5.3%, are far from the critical thresholds of 10 and 15 percent of employment even if the incidence in 13 Regions is above the critical threshold of 50 per 100 thousand inhabitants with the highest values in the PA of Bolzano with 189 and in Friuli Venezia Giulia with 139.6.
On the other side of the Channel, Great Britain sees the turning point: it shortens the recall period, from 6 to 5 months, for the over 50s
, to make it faster and mitigate the progressive reduction of immunity, and looks with enthusiasm at the arrival of the antiviral in Merck pill. For the third dose, the Anglo-Saxons start with 10 million administrations and record an acceleration of the gradual descent of infections (30,000 cases, 3,500 fewer than yesterday, out of 900 thousand tampons), another 400,000 vaccines, and a decrease in deaths (a 155 against 193 yesterday and 214 the day before). British health chief Stephen Powis says: "We stood up to the brunt."
A framework in which, even
in Italy we look at the antiviral and expect theok from Ema and Aifa on vaccination for the 5-11 year old age group
. For vaccines, their effectiveness "remains high" against deaths and hospitalizations, while Delta has decreased protection from infection. According to the Higher Institute of Health, 91% effective in preventing hospitalization, 95% for hospitalization in intensive care, and 91% for deaths, with the prevalent delta variant, while the effectiveness of prevention from infection it is 75% with the Delta variant compared to 89% during the epidemic phase with the prevailing alpha variant. The highest incidence of cases is always in the unvaccinated.
Mirror of the situation are the daily data with 6,764 Covid test positives identified in the last 24 hours, with a drop in deaths, 31 in 24 hours against 51 recorded in Friday's bulletin. There was a slight decline in serious hospitalizations, with 392 patients in intensive care, three fewer than yesterday in the balance between entries and exits. The daily admissions are 23 (yesterday 37). The hospitalized with symptoms in the ordinary wards are 3,173, or 49 more than on Friday.
Currently positive for Covid in Italy are 93,693, 3,337 more in the last 24 hours. The positivity rate is 1.37%, a slight increase compared to 1.2% on Friday, while the molecular and antigenic swabs for the coronavirus have been carried out in the last 24 hours in Italy in the last 24 hours.
Italy's goal, Rezza stressed, is to keep open all activities, in which there can be greater crowding, from restaurants, cafes, gyms to hotels, through the Green pass, "decreasing the risk that outbreaks occur and occur within these structures ".
In the fight against Covid,
six months after the second dose it is "appropriate to favor the third for the largest possible audience", affirms Health Minister Roberto Speranza
in an interview with Corriere della Sera. To vaccinate under 30 "we will get there", says the minister, for whom "already administering the third dose over the age of 40 or 50 would be an important step". Hope once again calls for caution. If on the one hand in Italy "the numbers of the epidemic and vaccinated people are objectively better", it is still necessary "to keep our feet on the ground, because the situation is serious throughout Europe, the wave of Covid is still high". The protection given by vaccines for the minister is evident, and he gives the example of Romania which, "with less than 20 million inhabitants and only 30% vaccinated, it causes 600 deaths a day ".
With the vaccination of the 5-11 year old group, Speranza hopes to leave in "December"
, or "as soon as the EMA has approved the vaccine and the Aifa has given the green light for Italy".
The goal is to "reach 50%" of vaccination coverage for children.
Winter is approaching, and with it the risks of being indoors.
"It will be a Christmas like any other before Covid", declares the minister, "if the hospital wards keep up".
In that case no measures will be taken.
"If, on the other hand, the admissions go up - he specifies - the measures will take place in the territories, based on the color system".
And to those who are planning holidays abroad for the holidays, the minister says: "I'm for the holidays in Italy".