Health

Italy recommends fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose for immunocompromised

Italy's health ministry has recommended that people with a severely compromised immune system receive a fourth mRNA vaccine shot against COVID-19, provided that at least 120 days have passed from their previous booster, it said on Sunday.
The special commissioner appointed by the government for theCOVID-19 emergency will set the date for the recommendation to come into force based on the needs of the vaccine campaign, the ministry said.
Read the latest updates in our dedicated coronavirus section.

The ministry added that the decision reflects the still highcirculation of the virus and the effectiveness that booster shots had shown in preventing COVID-related deaths and, more generally, symptoms that would require hospitalization.

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Italy has registered 152,848 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak in February 2020, the second-highest toll in Europe
behind Britain and the eighth highest in the world. The country has reported 12.4 million cases to date.

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‘Just in case’ use of antibiotics was rife during COVID-19, says UN health agency

Antibiotics saw “extensive overuse” globally among hospitalized COVID-19 patients during the pandemic without improving clinical outcomes, while also potentially exacerbating the already serious and growing threat of antimicrobial resistance, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.

Health

Teen alcohol and nicotine use in Europe is up, WHO urges preventive measures

Substance use is on the rise among teenagers in Europe, Central Asia and Canada and girls now match or even exceed boys when it comes to smoking and drinking, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a new report on Thursday.