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.
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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.
Read more: UK to scrap all remaining COVID-19 restrictions next week in ‘risky move’
