Lazio, leading Italy’s vaccine roll-out

Rome, Feb 9 (efe-epa).- The Italian region of Lazio, home to the capital Rome, is leading the Covid-19 vaccination race in the country and has already started vaccinating people over 80.

The push to vaccinate the senior age group in the region began Monday, a week after the system to make an appointment was launched. The public response was such that the platform collapsed. More than 2,000 requests arrived in just seven minutes, and more than 150,000 arrived two days later.

“The goal is to complete the vaccination of those over 80 by the beginning of May,” the Covid-19 crisis unit in Lazio, where some 400,000 people of that age group reside, said. During the first day of the campaign, more than 3,500 older people went to the authorized vaccination centers in the region.

This stage of the process “continues with the effort to protect the elderly, those hardest hit by this pandemic,” Health Minister Roberto Speranza wrote on Facebook at the start of the campaign in Lazio. The regions of Liguria in north-west Italy, Veneto, in the north-east, and Lombardy, in the north, plan to start vaccinating their senior citizens in the coming weeks.

By protecting those between 80 and 89 years old, Lazio covers all groups included in Phase 1 of the Italian vaccination plan against the coronavirus, which also involves health staff, care home workers and residents. EFE-EPA

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