Italy reached its full vaccination target of 80% of the population over the age of 12. Rome set the goal as a safety cut-off point; government data showed today it hit the target.
According to a government website, 43,229,551 people over-12, out of a total population of around 60 million, completed their full vaccination cycle as of Oct 10.
Target set in March
The special commissioner for the COVID emergency, Army General Francesco Paolo Figliuolo, set the 80% target in March. Italy hit it late on October 9th.
“That’s a critical level above which experts say – and the trend we’ve been recording for weeks confirms this – that the risk of hospitalisation is drastically reduced”, the commissioner’s office said.
Guido Rasi, a former director at the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and current advisor to Figliuolo, said it was “not just a symbolic threshold”. “It’s a level that, calculations show, correlates with a significant reduction in the circulation of the virus and a drastic cut in hospital admissions.”
Rasi added that reducing the number of hospital admissions was essential for Italy’s economic recovery. It also helps the national health care system refocus on non-COVID related services.
80% is not enough
However, reaching the 80% target is not sufficient, according to the commissioner’s advisor.
“We will have to continue to reach other thresholds: either percentages above 80% if we continue to refrain from vaccinating children under the age of 12, or 80% of the entire population, including 5 to 12-year-olds”, he said.
Hospitalisations for COVID in Italy have steadily declined since early summer. Italy has registered 131,274 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak in February last year. However, Italy has the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the ninth-highest in the world. The country has reported 4.7 million cases to date.
Italy reported 27 coronavirus-related deaths on Sunday, down from 46 the previous day, the health ministry said. Meanwhile the daily tally of new infections fell to 2,278 from 2,748.
