In 2021, Italy was the first European country to oblige doctors and nursing staff in the public and private sectors to be vaccinated, under penalty of being transferred to other functions or suspended without pay. The reintegration of unvaccinated caregivers allows 4,000 medical staff to return to work.
Italian doctors and nurses suspended for refusing to be vaccinated against Covid-19 will be able to return to work on Tuesday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced on Monday. In 2021, Italy was the first European country to oblige doctors and nursing staff in the public and private sectors to be vaccinated, under penalty of being transferred to other functions or suspended without pay.
This obligation was to expire in December but it will be repealed on November 1 due to a “shortage of medical and health personnel”, explained the Minister of Health, Orazio Schillaci.
4,000 caregivers will be able to return to work
Hit hard by the coronavirus at the start of 2020, the Italian peninsula has one of the heaviest tolls, with nearly 180,000 deaths. But the impact of the virus on hospitals “is now limited”, said Orazio Schillaci.
According to Giorgia Meloni, this measure – criticized by the center-left who see it as a victory for antivax doctors – would allow 4,000 caregivers to return to work. His government, the most right-wing since the Second World War, was sworn in a little over a week ago with the desire to mark a clear break with the measures of his predecessor Mario Draghi.