Italy recommends fourth Covid vaccine dose for immunocompromised
Syringes used for injecting the vaccine against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) are seen, on the day Italy brings in tougher rules for the unvaccinated, at a Red Cross vaccination centre by Termini main train station in Rome, Italy, January 10, 2022. PHOTO: REUTERS
Italy's health ministry has recommended that people with a severely compromised immune system receive a fourth mRNA vaccine shot against Covid-19, provided that at least 120 days have passed from their previous booster, it said on Sunday.
The special commissioner appointed by the government for the Covid-19 emergency will set the date for the recommendation to come into force based on the needs of the vaccine campaign, the ministry said.
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The ministry added that the decision reflects the still high circulation of the virus and the effectiveness that booster shots had shown in preventing Covid-related deaths and, more generally, symptoms that would require hospitalisation.
Italy has registered 152,848 deaths linked to Covid-19 since its outbreak in February 2020, the second-highest toll in Europe behind Britain and the eighth highest in the world. The country has reported 12.4 million cases to date.