The former director of Mental Health Mezzina gives the injections at home: “In such a difficult phase we cannot fail to be there”

TRIESTE “I went back to work out of a civic spirit, to help, it is impossible not to be there at a fundamental moment in the history of our country”. Roberto Mezzina, former director of the Trieste Mental Health Department, is now engaged full-time in the vaccination campaign. He works 38 hours a week, sometimes even on weekends, after joining the Arcuri national call, which includes a salary and has been aimed at retired doctors and nurses. Thanks to a course, he was immediately available first in the vaccination centers of Cattinara and Maggiore, now at home.

A job that at the beginning was “hectic and tiring”, in which there were surprises: “Due to the incorrect information circulated in recent months – he explains -, I have witnessed cases, fortunately rare, of people who refused the vaccine deeming it unsafe. Now I hope there will be a communication from the government on the substantial equivalence between vaccines, because this is a big problem ».

His experience in the area is proving invaluable. “After Easter, I will only do home vaccinations. Let’s go with the district nurses, whom I thank. It’s stressful to move around all the time, but it’s nice. It is a therapeutic act that goes beyond mere vaccination. We reassure and encourage people, we often find enthusiastic elders. And then, after giving the vaccine, you discover stories, houses, pieces of life, places, cultures and neighborhoods. It’s a bit of the work I was doing ». So it happened to meet, in this path that Mezzina specifies that he had undertaken “with great humility”, «people even 101 and 99 years old: one, blind, listened to records of opera. I see situations that make you think and it is important that these people are supported at home by social networks ». But how many users can you vaccinate in a morning? “Between parking, getting in, waiting for the 15 minutes post vial, it takes at least half an hour per person. On average, you get a dozen vaccines, but once we hit the record of 18 ».
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