ROME: Thousands die each week from Covid-19 in Italy, one of the highest per capita mortality figures and rates in the West.
One factor, according to the Italian government itself: for many weeks, Italy took a long time to vaccinate the elderly. While national authorities have given priority to the elderly and nursing homes alongside front-line health workers, regional authorities have given numerous traits to younger workers.
This contrasts with the UK, where vaccinating older age groups first has contributed to a sharp drop in deaths from Covid-19.
In the last two weeks of March, Italy reported 102 deaths from Covid-19 per million inhabitants, compared to 47 in Spain, 28 in Germany and 11 in the United Kingdom. At the end of March, people aged 70 and over accounted for 86% of the 107,000 deaths confirmed by Italy for Covid-19.
“If we had vaccinated those over 70 or 75 years from the beginning, we would have avoided so many deaths,” said Antonella Viola, a virologist at the University of Padua.