Italy starts administering second dose of vaccine

After surpassing a milestone of one million first dose vaccinations last Friday, Italy Sunday began administering second doses of the Pfizer-BionTech vaccine. The first doses were given on December 27th simultaneously across the European Union.

Doctors and nurses were given priority by the Italian government. Three weeks later those who have had their first doses in the presence of the country's Minister of Health got their second shot.

Italy's vaccination program is moving faster than its original timetable, with those aged over 80 already starting to receive their first injection this week instead of early February as predicted.

By Friday evening, more than one million people in Italy, a country of 60 million, had received a shot of one of the two vaccines so far approved for use by the European Union.

The government's special commissioner for the pandemic, Domenico Arcuri, told reporters that if EU approval comes later this month for a third manufacturer's vaccine, as many as 50 million people in Italy could be vaccinated this year.

Italian Health Ministry figures recorded 475 deaths since Thursday, bringing the overall known death toll to 81,800, one of the highest in Europe.

(IMAGE CREDITS:AP)