Italy registered 5,522 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24-hour period and 59 coronavirus sufferers died here in that time. These are the latest figures from the health ministry on Thursday 9th September.
The number of new cases and deaths has dropped since Wednesday. Then the figures were 5,923 new cases and 69 deaths. Italy’s COVID-19 death toll now stands at 129,766.
Positivity rate
The ministry said 291,468 COVID tests were carried out in the last 24 hours; the positivity rate was 1.9%. That compares to 301,980 tests and a positivity rate of 2% on Wednesday.
558 COVID patients are in intensive care units in Italy, six fewer than on Wednesday.
Third dose approval
The technical-scientific committee of Italian medicines agency AIFA approved giving people a third dose of COVID-19 vaccines today.
The committee said priority should go to the clinically vulnerable, such as the immunosuppressed, people who have had transplants, extremely elderly people and residents in care homes and highly exposed health workers. It said mRna vaccines like the Pfizer and Moderna ones should be used for the third jabs.
The third jab should be done at least six months after the second. Exceptions are the immunosuppressed and people who have had transplants for whom it should be done at least 28 days after.
“We’ll have the third dose in Italy,” Health Minister Roberto Speranza said on Monday. “We’ll start in September with fragile patients like oncology and transplant patients.
“The European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) have already expressed opinions (in favour) on this. So we’ll start with the first third doses in Italy in September and then we’ll analyse things to continue with the over-80s, care-home residents and health personnel, who were the first groups to get the vaccine”
Anti-vaxxer from Brescia dies of Covid
A 39-year-woman from the province of Brescia who was opposed to vaccinations has reportedly died of COVID-19.
The woman was the mother of two young children, Il Giornale di Brescia reported. Following a holiday in Piancogno, she tested positive for the coronavirus. Her husband, father and mother also contracted the virus, the report said. The dead woman’s mother is seriously ill in Brescia’s Spedali Civili hospital.
The report said none of the family were vaccinated.
