They should vaccinate the population against seasonal flu, but most likely, they themselves will not be vaccinated. Because lack of vaccine doses. And therefore they will not, despite the recommendations of the Ministry of Health. And the paradox who are experiencing operators of accredited private healthcare facilities in Lombardy, to whom no doses of influenza vaccine from Pirellone were planned, unlike what has happened in recent years.
On August 17th, Lombardy region has in fact forwarded to all the General Managers of the ATS and ASST of the territory the circular: “Indications for the 2020-2021 influenza vaccination campaign“, with the instructions for the vaccination campaign of health workers. In the part concerning the vaccination of the health workers of the accredited structures, the circular read: “at the moment the supply of the vaccine by the NHS is not envisaged, but the companies must provide for it independently”.
A Announcements (alarming), given that until recent years Pirellone had always supplied the vaccine free of charge even to private individuals. A change of direction, moreover, communicated in net delay, that is, only two months after the start of the vaccination campaign, which has put the accredited structures in serious difficulty, as the availability of vaccines on the market, given the current global health crisis, is currently very limited.
A scarcity due to competition: vaccine batches produced by Italian companies authorized by AIFA – the only ones from which it was allowed to obtain supplies up to a week ago – were largely optioned by the Regions for their campaigns (already at the start, unlike the Lombardy, heavily overdue). Thus the availability for the market is limited, so much so that Federfarma denounced the risk that the vaccination campaign for non-frail subjects will also become impracticable, through the network of pharmacy.
To run for cover, AIFA on 25 September had authorized the purchase of vaccines also from foreign companies, but the global health crisis has skyrocketing prices. Thus a dose that normally cost 5 euros now reaches 28 euros (price of the Indian vaccine). Moreover delivery times have increased out of all proportion. Moral? Private individuals are unable to source for their staff and, therefore, there is a risk of paralysis of the private health system, which in Lombardy covers 40% of services.
Not only, with the number of infections rapidly increasing, having unvaccinated health workers who, in turn, cannot vaccinate the population – despite the same circular of August of the Pirellone foresees that a primary role of private health in the vaccination campaign – it does nothing but “help” Covid.
To understand the gravity of the situation, just remember it study of the Monzino Cardiology Center in Milan, published in the magazine “Vaccines“, according to which during the lockdown in regions with a higher vaccination coverage rate among over 65s, there were fewer infections, fewer patients hospitalized with symptoms, fewer ICUs and fewer deaths for Covid-19. The study estimates that a 1% increase in vaccination coverage in over 65s could have avoided 78,560 infections. Without forgetting that the Lombardy it is the region in which they counted themselves 12,000 health workers infected with Covid, with 76 deaths.
To raise the issue, the regional councilor of + Europe Michele Usuelli, who on Tuesday will present an ad hoc motion in the regional council for to make the commissioner Giulio Gallera retrace his steps:
«Lombardy Region cannot give a damn about its health workers only because they work in accredited private sector, risking for the second time to make the Lombard hospitals places of contagion as well as care. Really other are the games in which the Region must show discontinuity with respect to the subjection to private healthcare. Fontana and Gallera demonstrate for the umpteenth time that they understand and not know how to manage the delicacy and complexity of the assignment they received from citizens».
Private toilets aside, it is the entire vaccination program organized by the Lombardy Region to have more than one problem, as pointed out by the Gimbe Foundation, according to which the Pirellone was awarded a lower number of vaccine doses compared to the fragile population, that is children up to 6 years and seniors over 65, which would be only 66.3% covered.
A’accusation sent back to the sender by the councilor Gallera, who replied hard-nosed:
«It is not so. We have purchased 2.5 million doses of the vaccine, which is 80% more than last year. Nationally there are 17 million, therefore 15% of the doses of all the Regions were purchased from Lombardy. These will allow us to cover both the frail and health workers and children on the target quotas, which are at least 75%. The goals are 75%, which is the goal set by the MinistryHe added, specifying that «for healthcare professionals we have foreseen in our calculations the achievement of 90%. Let’s talk about those who work in public hospitals, if they are left over, we will make them available to other categories and on the market. However, what we have purchased will cover our target groups ».
Moral, no vaccine for those who work in private. Probably according to Gallera they too are “ordinary citizens”, that is, those for whom the Region is not competent, because of the “free market theme (of vaccines, ed) the Government must be engaged in a national strategy».
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