‘Like priests who don’t believe in God’: Italy’s anti-vax medics eye return to frontline duty
Summary
Italy’s lower house approved a bill allowing some healthcare workers removed from professional registers during the pandemic for serious anti-vaccine-related violations to apply for reinstatement. Medical experts warn the proposal could further weaken trust in vaccines as Italy faces rising measles cases and low vaccine uptake; the bill still requires Senate approval.Key Facts
- The bill covers healthcare workers removed from professional registers for serious violations linked to anti-vaccination beliefs, including promoting treatments without a scientific basis.
- Brothers of Italy and the League back the measure; support from National Future helped secure its passage in the lower house.
- A Senate vote is scheduled for January.
- A University of Turin report based on a survey of 50,000 Italian adults found nearly one in two were hesitant about vaccination.
- The report linked vaccine hesitancy more to misinformation and distrust in institutions than to safety concerns.
- Italy reported 472 measles infections in the first five months of this year, up from 322 in the same period last year.
- More than half of the reported measles cases were among young adults.
- Flu vaccine uptake among people aged 65 and over stood at 49.81% so far this season, the first time it had dropped below 50%.
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