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January 21, 2021 "Next week we will receive 20% fewer vaccine vials and this week 29% less".

This was stated by the Extraordinary Commissioner for the Covid-19 emergency, Domenico Arcuri, in the press conference to take stock of the activities for the contrast and containment of the epidemic.

"The drop of 20% in doses of the Pfizer vaccine will affect all 27 European countries in a homogeneous way".



The vaccine campaign slows down

"The administration of anti-Covid vaccines would have been greater but unfortunately the delays in deliveries have slowed it down significantly. From 80 thousand administrations per day on average, we passed Saturday to an average of 28 thousand", explained Arcuri.



This delay "happened due to a unilateral decision by the company. We had to reduce the doses of vaccine administered by almost two thirds and created an inequality in the territory by the decision of the company with some regions having almost 60% less doses. . For this we have shared a redistribution of doses to compensate for the asymmetry and then redistribute with the normal criteria ".



The "raw material" is missing "

Our campaign slows down due to a lack of raw material: if there are fewer vaccines when the need to administer the second dose begins, most of it is needed for the second dose and less is left for vaccinated categories of people destined for the first session of administration ", said the emergency commissioner.



"We can cheer because the number of vaccines available within European countries and therefore the number of companies that have received the authorization increases. We can then legally protect ourselves".



Call for doctors and nurses

From next week, the first 2,679 doctors and nurses who participated in the call will arrive in the regions.

Arcuri pointed out that at the moment 20,795 applications have already been screened.

The first doctors and nurses have undergone "an evaluation - he said - and are fit and ready to go. From next week we will send these doctors and nurses to the territories to strengthen the capacity to administer". 



Temporary pavilions for mass vaccination

The tender for the construction of the temporary pavilions for mass vaccination, the "primroses" designed by architect Stefano Boeri, has been published.

Arcuri stressed that the companies were asked to provide all the necessary information and to have "given time to receive the offers until Wednesday 27 January".

"We will also work to begin the construction of these temporary structures to be ready to start, hopefully soon, the mass vaccination campaign", concluded the Commissioner.