Jul 5, 2021 - Health

Italy holds overnight vaccine drive for homeless people, undocumented migrants

Axios

A vaccination center in Rome in May. Photo: Fabrizio Villa/Getty Images

Health authorities in Italy are attempting to vaccinate "people on the margins of society, the most fragile," by holding overnight vaccine drives in the Lazio region, which includes Rome, the New York Times reports.

Why it matters: Italy's National Institute for Health, Migration and Poverty has estimated there are at least 700,000 people in the country who are not registered with the national health service and may lack access to the country’s coronavirus vaccination campaign.

Doctors and nurses vaccinated homeless people, undocumented migrants, foreign students and foreigners who legally work in Rome but can't access vaccines at a vaccine initiative organized by the Santo Spirito hospital in Rome on Saturday and Sunday.

They received the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, since they may difficult to reach for a second dose of vaccine.
To help draw people to the site, a jazz pianist played on Saturday night and espresso and cornetti were offered on Sunday morning.

The big picture: As of Sunday, just over 20 million people in Italy were fully vaccinated, which is roughly 33% of the country's total population, according to Johns Hopkins University.

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Italy holds overnight vaccine drive for homeless people, undocumented migrants

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