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COVID-19 VACCINES

Where and how to book a Covid-19 vaccine booster shot in Italy

As Italy rolls out second Covid booster shots to more of the population, here's how to book an appointment in your region.

Published: 17 February 2021 17:48 CET
Updated: 18 October 2022 11:41 CEST
Where and how to book a Covid-19 vaccine booster shot in Italy
Here's where to register for a coronavirus vaccination in Italy. Photo: Marco Bertorello/AFP

Italy has a relatively high rate of Covid vaccination coverage, with more than 90 percent of the population over 12 years old vaccinated with at least two doses according to official figures.

As the country pushes to keep this figure up, the national medicines regulator Aifa in September approved the use of new bivalent or dual-strain Covid vaccines designed to protect against both Omicron and the original strain of the coronavirus.

Health authorities recommended this booster for over-60s as well as vulnerable groups including “health workers, pregnant women, and residents of facilities for the elderly”.

Aifa head Nicola Magrini said under-60s could also request a booster if they wanted one.

This appears to mean availability for under-60s varies, but booster jabs are being offered to all over-12s in a number of Italian regions.

How do I book my booster jab?

Whether you need a first, second, third or fourth dose, jabs are normally available by appointment only.

The availability of fourth doses will vary by region, as each local health authority is responsible for managing the timing of its own vaccination campaign.

READ ALSO: What is Italy’s Covid vaccination plan this autumn?

A booking can be made via pharmacies or family doctors, and via regional booking websites where available.

See the government’s ‘prenotazione vaccino‘ (vaccine booking) website for links to regional authorities’ appointment reservation platforms. (The site is only available in Italian).

You will be asked to choose where to go for your shot when you book your appointment. You can find a list of vaccination centres by region at the bottom of this page.

Depending on your circumstances, you will be asked for your codice fiscale (tax code) and/or your tessera sanitaria (health card).

Throughout the pandemic, many non-Italian citizens who are not registered with the Italian national health service have reported facing bureaucratic obstacles when booking a vaccination appointment. However, more regional authorities are now making provisions for those who don’t have a tessera sanitaria. If this is your situation, see more guidance on making a booking here.

For more information, check the official websites listed below.

Unfortunately, these local authority websites and phone numbers are usually only available in Italian; if you require more assistance with making a booking in Italy you may need to contact your healthcare provider.

Abruzzo

Basilicata

Calabria

Campania

Emilia-Romagna

Friuli-Venezia Giulia

Lazio

Liguria

Lombardy

Marche

Molise

Piedmont

Puglia

Sardinia

Sicily

Autonomous province of Trento

Autonomous province of Bolzano

Tuscany

Umbria

Valle D’Aosta

Veneto

  • Regional vaccination information
  • Eligible residents will be contacted by their doctor or local health authority
  • Online registration due to become available from March 30th

Please note The Local cannot advise on individual cases. For specific advice, please contact your local health authority or a medical professional.

For more information about Italy’s vaccination campaign, see the Italian health ministry’s website.

Member comments

  1. Why are any links provided not presented in English? English speakers are your clients, not Italians. Please translate everything.

  2. as an italian citizen living abroad , i can not register on any of the sites for a vaccination while in italy

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COVID-19 VACCINES

How to get a Covid booster jab in Italy this autumn

Italy's autumn Covid vaccine booster campaign is now underway, along with its seasonal flu jabs rollout.

Published: 2 October 2023 13:08 CEST
Updated: 2 November 2023 12:21 CET
How to get a Covid booster jab in Italy this autumn

The updated Covid vaccine is now available across Italy’s regions, with over nine million doses due to arrive in the country by the end of November.

The first jabs were available in some regions from the start of October: Lazio started its campaign on Monday, October 2nd, while Friuli Venezia Giulia’s launched a few days earlier on September 29th.

As healthcare is managed on a regional level in Italy, each region has its own start date and booking procedure.

The boosters are particularly recommended for over-60s, those who are immunosuppressed or pregnant, and healthcare workers, though jabs may be available to others on request.

The campaign aims to prevent a seasonal spike in infections, with vaccines targeting the new Eris variant as well as new winter flu viruses.

Which vaccines are available?

According to the latest health ministry circular, the government’s Covid booster campaign uses Pfizer and BioNTech’s monovalent Comirnaty vaccine targeting Omicron XBB 1.5, otherwise known as Kraken.

The European Medicines Agency has said the vaccine is also effective against other variants including Eris (EG.5.1), which as of late September had become the dominant strain in Italy at 43.5 percent, according to ISS data.

“Eris is one of the viral forms we are seeing and I am pleased to announce that the latest approved vaccines also protect against variants in circulation, including Eris,” EMA director Emer Cooke reportedly said in a recent press conference on respiratory diseases.

The EMA has said the vaccine is effective against new variants.

The EMA has said the vaccine is effective against new variants. Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO / AFP.

Who are they for?

The health ministry says the campaign is particularly aimed at the following groups:

  • Over-60s
  • Residents of care facilities
  • People who are pregnant or breastfeeding
  • Health and social care workers
  • People of any age with underlying health conditions

Vaccines are also recommended for caregivers, family members, and anyone who lives with a medically vulnerable person.

Anyone who doesn’t fall into any of these these categories but would still like to get a Covid booster can access one on request, subject to availability.

Administration of the booster is recommend six months from the last dose or from the last known Covid infection (as confirmed by testing).

A single dose of the adapted vaccine is also recommended for those who have not yet received any Covid vaccines. For children aged six months to four years who have not yet been vaccinated or infected with Covid, three doses are recommended, each several weeks apart.

How to get the booster

Your first step should be to visit the government’s vaccine booking website and see how the campaign is being conducted in your region (under ‘Prenota vaccino’).

Italy’s healthcare system operates on a regional rather than a national level, so getting a booster in Emilia-Romagna will be a different process to getting one in Lombardy.

In Lazio, for example, priority will be awarded in the first instance to health and social care workers and residents of care homes. The vaccine will be offered to over-80s and the medically vulnerable from October 16th, and other categories from October 30th.

If you can’t see the information you need on your regional authority’s website, it’s a good idea to contact your family doctor or local pharmacist to see what they can tell you about accessing the jab.

With Italy’s previous Covid vaccination campaigns, the websites for most regional health authorities have required patients to input their tessera sanitaria (national health card) and codice fiscale (tax code) numbers in order to make an online booking.

That means that if you don’t have one, you’ll likely need to make a phone call to either your regional health authority.

In the past, readers of The Local reported being able to book an appointment for a Covid vaccine by phone using only their codice fiscale number after explaining the situation (you’ll need the help of an Italian speaker if you don’t speak Italian).

As Italy’s Covid booster campaign is being rolled out alongside its seasonal flu jab campaign, you should be able to get both shots at the same time.

The Covid situation in Italy

According to the latest weekly bulletin from Italy’s National Health Institute (ISS), the number of Covid cases in Italy has increased over the past few weeks, with 38,775 new cases recorded between September 21st-27th, but the infection rate is slowing.

As of the week ending September 27th, the Rt (transmission rate) in Italy was 0.9, below the epidemic threshold,  and the numbers of hospitalisations and of Covid patients in intensive care is also low and stable, the data shows.

However the risk to older members of the population and people with underlying health conditions who become infected remains “severe”, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) warns.

“Vaccination saves lives, decreases the chances of being infected and reduces the risk of severe illness from COVID-19 and influenza,” ECDC director Andrea Ammon said in a recent press release encouraging uptake of the vaccines.

Find more information about Italy’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign on the Italian health ministry’s website.

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