Govt rules out linking vaccine allocation to regions' GDP

(ANSA) - ROME, JAN 19 - Regional Affairs Minister Francesco Boccia on Tuesday ruled out central government agreeing to a proposal by Lombardy's new welfare chief, former Milan mayor Letizia Moratti, for a region's GDP to be a factor in deciding its allocation of the COVID-19 vaccine.
    Lombardy, the regional around Milan, is one of the driving forces of the Italian economy.
    "The vaccination campaign is needed to protect the health of the Italian people, bring the number of victims down to zero, take away congestion in hospitals and take the country back to normality," said Boccia.
    "Using GDP as a parameter for the allocation of vaccines is a hypothesis that goes against civilization and universal rights, even if linked to the density of businesses (in a region).
    "I imagine it was just an unfortunately remark, not a formal proposal.
    "We have never received such a proposal". (ANSA).