Immunization should start in January. First units will be for hospitals and nursing homes
Italy will use a drive-thru system to distribute the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus vaccine to a large number of its population. The disease has already infected almost 1,3 million people and left 47,2 dead in the country.
The measure is part of a vaccination plan sent by the coordinator of government actions against the pandemic, Domenico Arcuri, to governors and ministers of Health (Roberto Speranza) and Regional Relations (Francesco Boccia).
Immunization against Sars-CoV-2 in Italy should begin in January, with the arrival of 3,4 million doses of the candidate developed by the German company Biontech and the American multinational Pfizer, which will serve to protect 1,7 million people ( two doses are needed to guarantee immunity).
These first units, according to Arcuri, will be reserved for hospitals and nursing homes. “It is a priority to protect those places that represented the main channel of contagion and spread of the virus during the pandemic.
In this first phase, it is possible to foresee the administration of the vaccine directly in hospital structures and in homes for the elderly”, says the document.
To apply the vaccine, hospitals will have to demonstrate the capacity to immunize at least 2 people every 15 days and have refrigerators that reach minus 75ºC, as the Biontech/Pfizer medicine needs to be kept at minus 70ºC.
Distribution will be done through the supplier's own storage bags, in which the doses can remain for up to 15 days.
Large-scale campaign
Future other vaccines will be aimed at “all categories of citizens”, with “different methods of administration and through a large-scale campaign”. The document then cites “drive-thru” as an example.
This system is typical of large fast food chains and allows the customer to make a purchase without getting out of the car, but it has been widely used for testing against the new coronavirus in Italy. Arcuri's idea is to replicate this model in vaccination.
The country will have access to vaccines against Sars-CoV-2 through the European Union, which has already signed contracts for five candidates: Oxford/AstraZeneca, Sanofi-GSK, Janssen, Biontech/Pfizer and CureVac.
Negotiations are also ongoing with Moderna. These agreements already guarantee at least 1,2 billion doses for the EU, but with the possibility of reaching up to 1,9 billion. (HANDLE).
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