ROME (Reuters) – Italy said on Saturday that it aims to vaccinate at least 80% of the population by the end of September, following criticism of the slow pace of launching a coronavirus vaccination campaign in one of the countries worst affected in Europe.
Francesco Paolo Figliuolo, an army general and new special commissioner for coronavirus, has unveiled a national plan to administer 500,000 doses per day at full capacity, according to a cabinet document.
Italy has registered 101,881 deaths since the outbreak in February 2020 in the country, the second highest toll in Europe after Britain and the seventh highest in the world. It has so far reported 3.2 million cases of infection.
Some 1.95 million Italians, equivalent to just 3.8% of the eligible population, have so far given two shots of vaccine, sparking public criticism over the slow pace of implementation and appointment of Figliuolo.
Italy expects to receive an increasing number of vaccinations, with total deliveries rising from 15.7 million doses in the first quarter to 52.5 million between April and June to a peak of 84.9 million in the third quarter, reads the document.
It is planned to expand the health operators who administer shots through an existing agreement to employ GPs, and by using dentists, junior doctors, doctors from the Italian Sports Medicine Federation and others.
In addition to health care facilities already used as vaccination points, Italy will use military barracks, production sites, large-scale shops, gyms, schools and the Catholic Church’s facilities.
Just under 51 million Italians are eligible for the vaccine and 60% of them could be vaccinated by the end of July, reaching the first threshold for herd immunity, the document showed.
Patheon Thermo Fischer, which is part of US-listed Thermo Fischer Scientific, is ready to begin mass production of a COVID-19 vaccine in Italy, a government source said Friday.
Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte and Francesca Landini; Written by Francesca Landini; Edited by Mike Harrison and Edmund Blair