–>
Genoa. “Today is one historic day. We started vaccinations against Covid-19 without any hitch: I am proud of the Ligurian health system and of all those who have worked for this goal in the area “. Thus the president of the Liguria Region Giovanni Toti spoke at Vaccine Day, which kicked off this morning at the San Martino Polyclinic Hospital, where the first 320 doses of vaccine arrived this morning at 8 am, intended for both a sample of the target population and (45 doses) for guests and staff of the RSA Villa Marta di Betania, in Genoa.
“Today we started a vaccination campaign that will accompany us in the coming months – Toti added – to reach the full coverage of the majority of the population, starting from health personnel and guests and employees of the RSA: this means protecting those who are today in the most serious conditions in the wards of our hospitals. After that, the vaccination will also be extended to the rest of the population up to the administration of 500 thousand vaccines. To do this, it will take a few months, but by February we will be able to cover a sufficiently large sample to facilitate our battle against Covid and significantly reduce the number of victims that unfortunately we record every day “.
The first vaccinated today at the San Martino Polyclinic Hospital was Gloria Capriata, nursing coordinator of resuscitation: “I’m fine, everything has been impeccably organized, I’m proud to have been the first. I tell my colleagues to go confidently, without fear, without hesitation: I hope that today anyone, even among the health personnel, has found the right motivation to get vaccinated. Thanks for giving me this chance, get vaccinated! “.
At Villa Betania the first vaccinated was the lady Marisa Rossi, 90 years old, and the coordinator of the facilities Stefania Camerano. From December 28, further 16 thousand doses are expected in Liguria (400 thousand in Italy) which will be distributed in the 14 hospitals identified in the area. By February, the more than 60 thousand subjects of the target population will have been vaccinated and they will also be given the second dose starting from 25 January (the vaccine Pfizer-BioNTech provides for the administration of two doses at least 21 days apart).
Mayor Marco Bucci he added: “It’s nice to know that we have health that works, that can do these things and that the world defends itself through science and technology. We’ll make it. My message to the Genoese is: let’s remember that getting vaccinated is important for our health, for the city and for those around us. Getting vaccinated is a message of civility and coherence towards others “.
Among the vaccinated today, in addition to the first subjects of the target population (health personnel including doctors, nurses, oss, volunteers of public assistance, general practitioners and pediatricians as well as elderly and RSA workers) there are also the components of the task regional pandemic force. “We are living in a historic moment – said the director of the San Martino Polyclinic Giancarlo Icardi Department of Hygiene – nothing like this has ever happened in the past”. Icardi then underlined the safety of the vaccine: “On social networks and online – added the expert – rumors about the MRNA circulate that spread completely unmotivated and unfounded fears: the fact that once injected it can cause damage to the body it is a false myth, a hoax that must be considered as such and must be dismantled in all respects.
The MRNA works like a courier that takes the message to the factory where the proteins capable of protecting us from Covid-19 are produced ”. Icardi then underlined the importance of vaccination for “public health: the evidence on the vaccine during the clinical trial has shown extraordinary effectiveness in protecting against the disease. This is the greatest hope: to vaccinate as many people as possible in the shortest time possible to stem this pandemic ”. Icardi stressed that “it is an absolutely safe and well tolerated vaccine. There is currently no contraindication, not even for pregnant women. Like all vaccines, there are predictable but not preventable events: pain, redness, swelling, with a frequency around 10% of vaccinated people, the possible occurrence of fever which disappears within 4 or 5 days or headache. These are better known effects, common to all vaccinations ”.
The professor is also satisfied Filippo Ansaldi, Alisa’s Prevention Manager: “I am delighted to be here today. It was a complex organization, which started punctually with the symbolic ‘Vaccine day’, and widespread, with 14 administration points in the area, ready to go. I am happy that this machine has been put in motion efficiently to protect the first target population, i.e. all health workers who come into contact with Covid patients and the most fragile people in the RSA. It is a great commitment, but it is only a small step compared to phase 2 which will concern at least 500 thousand doses in the coming months: at that point we will be able to speak of true herd immunity “.
Vaccinated this morning too Matteo Bassetti, director of the Infectious Diseases Clinic of the San Martino Polyclinic Hospital: “Our job is for the whole health system to get vaccinated. Today the triumph of science and scientific research is celebrated and it is right to highlight it at the San Martino which is a scientific hospitalization and treatment institute (Irccs). Today begins the revenge of the medical and scientific world against the virus and I hope that 2021 will be less heavy for those who have faced Covid on the front line. Vaccinating is an act of love towards ourselves, towards the people we love and towards the society in which we live “.
–
