ROME - Italy has administered nearly 19 million doses of the Covid vaccine, officials say, and the campaign is finally picking up pace. However, with every region having control over its own vaccination campaign, some are taking the opportunity to prioritise other areas. Campania are offering mass vaccinations on the sun-drenched island of Procida in the bay of Naples as a way of inviting back tourists, though critics claim that this could mean leaving many of the more vulnerable unvaccinated in the southern region in the short term.

  From Friday Lazio was allowing 58 and 59 years olds to book vaccinations, while in Veneto and Tuscany the vaccination of the 70-79 year olds only began this week.

  Campania meanwhile, which has so far administered 1.8 million doses for the 5.8 million inhabitants, has begun in the aim to name Procida the first Covid-free island in Italy within a week. The campaign to get Procida's 10,000 residents vaccinated, which already has 2,600 first doses and 800 second doses under its belt, will from this week consist mostly of the Johnson&Johnson vaccine, announced Procida mayor Dino Ambrosino, in a video on Facebook.

  A suspicious variant of Covid-19 was this week detected in a school on Procida, but all students and staff close to the case were told to isolate, and online teaching has been put in place until at least May 5.

  The variegated system seems to contrast what was recommended by General Figliuolo, the man running Italy’s fight against coronavirus, who said in a statement April 21, “the data in our possession it has emerged that the priority categories [the vulnerable and elderly] are not covered by the vaccine in enough of a proportion to guarantee their safety.”

  He suggested to the regions that they do not take any bookings of people under 60 under the older age groups are more fully vaccinated. 

  Many regions seemed to have ignored this advice, thinking it quicker and more effective to open up vaccinations to younger people who may be more willing to go and get vaccinated, rather than waiting to make sure that every 80 year old is vaccinated - including people who for the last six months have expressed no desire to go and get their dose.

 However the government are in fact working to vaccinate those who, for whatever reason, would not go and get the vaccine - in the last month vaccinating 9,000 people in their homes, using 22 mobile army units.

   jp-ol