Premier Mario Draghi on Wednesday
hailed Italy's COVID-19 vaccination campaign as he reported to
parliament ahead of this week's European Council summit and
thanked all those who have been jabbed, especially those who did
so reluctantly.
"After a slow start, the European vaccination campaign has
achieved highly satisfying results," Draghi said in the Senate.
"In Italy the campaign is moving faster than the EU average.
"As of today, 86% of over-12s have had at least one dose and 81%
are completely vaccinated".
Draghi's government has made the Green Pass COVID-19 health
passport obligatory to access Italian places of work, a decision
that sparked several protests, including one in Rome on October
9 that turned into a riot.
The Green Pass shows that a person is vaccinated for COVID, has
recovered from it in the last six months or has tested negative
in the last few days.
"I want to thank all the citizens who chose to get vaccinated,
in particular the young and very young, and those who decided to
do so in recent weeks after overcoming their doubts," Draghi
said.
The premier said the summit would look into a "European approach
to address and overcome eventual future pandemics.
"We must invest in science and in research, which enabled us to
have safe and effective vaccines within months," he continued.
"We must avoid the repetition of dangerous episodes of the
health protectionism we witnesses in the first months of the
pandemic".
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