Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, 73, received a dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Tuesday, March 30, his services announced, in a gesture of support for this controversial vaccine.
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The former head of the European Central Bank and his wife were vaccinated at the center located at Rome's central station, Termini, a spokesperson said.
Italy suspended the use of AstraZeneca / Oxford doses for several days in March over suspicion of its side effects until the European Medicines Agency (EMA) again gives the green light.
Mario Draghi, who took office last month, has pledged to speed up the vaccine campaign in Italy, the first European country to be hit hard by the pandemic and currently facing a third wave of Covid-19.
Most of Italy is currently subject to severe restrictions to stem contagion (closure to the public of bars and restaurants, limited travel, etc.).
But schools in Lazio, the region which includes Rome, were able to reopen Tuesday after the decision of the health authorities to downgrade it from "
red
" (high risk of contagion) to "
orange
" (medium risk).
“
It's great to find the kids, but I don't understand the meaning of all this.
We lost two more weeks of school,
”a teacher from a primary school in northern Rome told AFP on condition of anonymity.
All of Italy will be classified in the “
red
”
zone
for the Easter weekend, which starts on Saturday and ends on Monday.
Easter, a popular holiday on the peninsula, is usually the occasion for family reunions.
The pandemic has so far killed more than 108,000 in Italy, according to the Ministry of Health.