COVID-19: Third dose key to curtailing Omicron says Speranza

(ANSA) - ROME, DEC 14 - Health Minister Roberto Speranza on Tuesday reiterated his call for people have a third COVID-19 vaccine dose, saying this was crucial to curtail the impact of the highly contagious Omicron strain of the coronavirus.
    "The third doses are even more important in order to face the Omicron variant," Speranza said at a conference on health services in the home and palliative care.
    "We are seeing this in the data that is coming in. "The epidemic continues to be a real, concrete problem that it is necessary to deal with.
    "Naturally, we (now) have instruments that we did not have a year ago, starting with the vaccines".
    The government has brought in a 'Super Green Pass' COVID-19 health-certificate system which, for the moment, excludes unvaccinated people from most social, cultural, leisure and sporting activities.
    Since the government brought in this system, there has been an increase in the number of previously unvaccinated people getting jabs.
    Indeed, over 88% of the Italian population aged 12 and over have had at least one dose of a COVID vaccine.
    "The figures of the last few days have been highly encouraging," said Speranza.
    "Yesterday half a million doses of COVID vaccine were given (in Italy).
    "In total over 100 million doses have been given and in recent weeks 450,000 people have had heir first dose".
    Italy is set to start vaccinating five-to-11-year-old this week and Speranza said the number of parents booking jabs for these younger children was high. (ANSA).