Italian health authorities on Thursday began vaccination of about 3.5 million children aged between five and 11.

Recall that in a statement issued on December 7th, the health ministry stated that the vaccine rollout to the five to 11 age group is intended to protect public health and curb the spread of the virus.

However, the Covid vaccines will not be obligatory for children, like most vaccines in Italy, the Vice President of the Italian Society of Paediatrics (Sip) Giuseppe Banderali, staked to Rai News that it is “necessary” to vaccinate this age group.

The coordinator of Italy’s Scientific and Technical Committee Franco Locatelli said, “The spread of Covid in the paediatric age group is significant.

“The five to 11 age group is the one that shows the greatest increase,” he added, emphasizing on the estimated rate of 200 cases per 100,000 children over the past 7 days.

According to the Local Italy news website, immunisation of the 5-11 age group is not aimed at obtaining the Covid-19 health certificate, or ‘green pass’, in order to access most of public life in Italy, as the health ministry’s circular reiterated that “children under 12 are exempt”.

TodayNG