Italy begins administering third dose of COVID-19 vaccine
September 21, 2021, 3:26 am

Italy begins administering third dose of COVID-19 vaccine

Corona-drawing-needle-vaccine

The Xinhua reported, Italy began administering booster COVID-19 vaccine shots on Monday, after the procedure received the official green light from the country's Medicines Agency (AIFA).

As the Health Ministry announced earlier this month, third doses -- of either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines -- will be offered to people with fragile immune systems.

This includes not only immuno-compromised people -- such as transplant patients -- but also elderly people and residents in care homes. Based on guidelines issued by AIFA, healthcare workers will also receive the booster shot.

According to the Xinhua news agency, the third dose will be offered as an option, since vaccination against coronavirus is strongly recommended but not mandatory in Italy.

It said, AIFA has recommended that the third shot should be available at least 28 days after the previous dose for immuno-compromised people.

For those over 80, people living in care homes, and healthcare professionals, the third dose would be considered as a "booster to maintain an effective immune response," and should be administered at least 6 months after their last dose.

Overall, AIFA and the Health Ministry have stressed that the national priority should remain to ensure that a majority of the population is vaccinated.

As of Monday, some 76 percent of the target population (those aged over 12) had been fully immunized, while 82 percent had received at least one dose, data from the Health Ministry has shown.

It should be noted that since the pandemic broke out in Italy in February 2020, some 4.6 million coronavirus cases have been confirmed. There have been over 130,000 fatalities and 4.4 million recoveries.

Source: xinhua

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.