Seven million Italians could be fully vaccinated by end-March - COVID commissioner

If vaccine supplies will be confirmed, seven million Italians could be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of the March, the government's special commissioner Domenico Arcuri said on Friday. Arcuri said the first 249,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will arrive in Italy on Saturday and will be administered from next week, to people up to the age of 55.

If vaccine supplies will be confirmed, seven million Italians could be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of the March, the government's special commissioner Domenico Arcuri said on Friday.

Arcuri said the first 249,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will arrive in Italy on Saturday and will be administered from next week, to people up to the age of 55. Pfizer and Moderna doses will be administered in parallel, to those over 80 and most exposed to risks, such as health workers.

"Meanwhile, the number of Italians that are fully vaccinated will top 1 million today," he said during a weekly press event. Asked about recent production disruptions and supply cuts, the commissioner said he was waiting for the EU and the vaccine manufacturers to agree over the proposal to transfer part of their production to local sites to increase capacity.

"We believe Italy has the facilities and the characteristics to contribute to an increase in production," he added.