Italy's Covid-19 Vaccinations Bypassed the Elderly, and More Are Dying
ROME—Thousands of people have been dying each week of Covid-19 in Italy, one of the highest numbers and per-capita death rates in the West. One factor, according to Italy’s own government: For many weeks, Italy was slow to vaccinate the elderly. While national authorities gave priority to older people and those in nursing homes alongside front-line healthcare workers, regional authorities have given numerous shots to younger workers. That contrasts with the U.K., where vaccinating the oldest age groups first has contributed to a sharp fall in Covid-19 deaths.
In the last two weeks of March, Italy reported 102 deaths from Covid-19 for every one million inhabitants, compared with 47 in Spain, 28 in Germany and 11 in the U.K. As of the end of March, people age 70 or older represented 86% of Italy’s 107,000 confirmed deaths from Covid-19.
The national government changed its vaccination guidelines in March, postponing eligibility for essential workers to focus on getting shots to the elderly. But many regions have been slow to adapt. Prime Minister Mario Draghi criticized regions for “neglecting the old” in favor of professional groups, who he said have bargaining power. The regions reacted defensively, blaming the central government’s guidelines and a shortage of vaccine doses. On Friday, Mr. Draghi’s government ordered regions to vaccinate strictly by age group, beginning with older Italians.
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Italy is now catching up with other EU countries in vaccinating people over 80, but still lags behind in giving shots to the over-70s. Only 17% of Italian residents ages 70-79 have had one or more doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, the lowest level in the EU apart from Bulgaria.
Some Italian regions have interpreted the healthcare category liberally. Medical researchers, Ph.D. students in medical schools and administrators working in the health sector got their shots before many over-80s, despite rarely having contact with patients. In the essential-workers category, some regions began vaccinating teachers, lawyers, magistrates, law-enforcement officials and in one region, journalists. Some park rangers, included in the category of law enforcement, got early shots.
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https://www.wsj.com/articles/italys-covid-19-vaccinations-bypassed-the-elderly-and-more-are-dying-11618398015 (subscription)
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