Italy approved mandatory vaccination against COVID-19 for over 50 years

Public and private employees will have to show their reinforced health certificate from February 15th.

The Italian Council of Ministers approved today by decree law the mandatory vaccination against the coronavirus for those over 50 years of age, a measure that seeks to relieve hospital pressure and control infections to protect the population.

This was confirmed today by sources from the Headquarters of the Government, who indicated that public and private employees will have to show from February 15 their reinforced health certificate (which is obtained only when they are vaccinated or have passed the disease), to access to their jobs.

The rest of people over 50 years old, even if they do not work, will also have to be vaccinated.

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The Council of Ministers also extended the vaccination obligation to university personnel, regardless of their age, thus equating it to school personnel, who have already had to do so since mid-December, and approved the guidelines on quarantines in schools, to guarantee the face-to-face classes from January 10 for sure.

Prime Minister Mario Draghi pointed out in the meeting with the ministers the need for the population to be immunized to control the pandemic, according to the sources.

“Today’s measures want to preserve the proper functioning of hospitals and, at the same time, keep schools and businesses open. We want to stop the growth of the contagion curve and push Italians who have not yet been vaccinated to do so, ”said Draghi.

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“We act on the age groups most at risk of being admitted to reduce hospital pressure and save lives,” he added.

Last week, the Government decided that this reinforced health passport will be mandatory from January 10 to access means of transport, in addition to hotels, ceremonies or festivals; while for now it is requested in leisure and catering.

Draghi wanted to expand its use to more activities, such as access to banks, public services, personal care such as hairdressers or beauty centers, and shops and shopping centers, but it was possible this Wednesday due to the reluctance of some forces of the government coalition , as the far-right Liga, which interpreted it as a masked mandatory vaccination for everyone, according to the Italian media.

The Minister of Health, Roberto Speranza, said for his part that the decisions taken seek to reduce the number of unvaccinated as much as possible because “it is what causes the saturation of hospital systems”, since “two thirds of those hospitalized in ucis and 50% of the patients in ordinary wards are not vaccinated ”.

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Italy today registered a new record of infections, with 190,000 cases in the last 24 hours, and the total number already stands at 6.7 million since February 2020.

The death toll has been 231, bringing the total to 138,276.

Regarding the vaccination campaign, 89.13% of the population over twelve years of age already have at least one dose and 86.07% have completed the cycle, while the booster has been inoculated at 67.67 % of the population that can receive it.

10.98% of children between 5 and 11 years old also already have at least one dose, but only 0.01% of this group has the complete regimen. (I)

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