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Procida becomes Italy’s first fully Covid-vaccinated island

Procida, Italy’s next capital of culture, finished vaccinating all its residents this week, as mass vaccinations get underway on small Italian islands that are bracing for an influx of summer visitors.

Published: 6 May 2021 11:32 CEST
Procida becomes Italy’s first fully Covid-vaccinated island
Mass vaccination is underway on the islands of Procida (back) and Ischia (front) in Campania. Photo: Laurent Emmanuel/AFP

The mayor of Procida declared it Italy’s first “Covid-free island” after a four-day vaccination campaign that saw over 90 percent of its 10,000 inhabitants get a shot.

The island in the Bay of Naples, Italy’s capital of culture for 2022, was prioritised not for the sake of tourists but for locals, stressed mayor Dino Ambrosino: “Small islands in Italy are fragile territories that often have limited health services.”

READ ALSO: How Italy’s ‘Covid-free islands’ vaccine plan hopes to save summer travel

Italy’s Covid-19 emergency commissioner, General Francesco Figliuolo, gave the go-ahead for further mass vaccination campaigns on isole minori (small islands) at a meeting with local mayors on Wednesday, according to reports, starting with those where health services are scarcest.

Mass vaccinations are already underway on Procida’s neighbouring islands of Capri and Ischia, while Sicily plans to begin campaigns on its outlying islands this weekend with the goal of getting several of them fully vaccinated within a fortnight.

The Pontine islands off the coast of Lazio, the Tremiti in Puglia, Capraia and Giglio in Tuscany, and the Maddalena archipelago off Sardinia are also aiming to vaccinate all residents in the coming weeks. 

Mayors of Italy’s dozens of small islands, which altogether have a permanent population of a few hundred thousand but can host several times that in summer, have been pushing for blanket vaccination before Italy invites tourists back.

The call for ‘Covid-free islands’, inspired by Greece’s decision to vaccinate residents in its holiday hotspots in time for peak season, has been criticised by regions on the mainland as an unfair use of Italy’s limited doses, with the country still struggling to vaccinate its elderly population.

READ ALSO: ‘We need ammunition’: Jabs for over-60s postponed as Italian regions run out of doses

Commissioner Figliuolo agreed to allocate resources for mass vaccination on small islands providing that islands with the highest infection risk and fewest health facilities be prioritised, according to accounts of Wednesday’s meeting.

The mayor of the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, which is due to open all vaccinations to all adult residents from Saturday, insisted that safety, not tourism, was the primary factor.

“It’s not about saving the tourist season here. It’s a question of protecting public health. The population of Lampedusa has a shortage of health services, there’s no hospital and to get to Porto Empedocle takes eight hours by boat,” said mayor Toto Martello.

Tourists on Lampedusa in 2018. Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP

The move does not mean that Italy has decided to prioritise vaccines for its tourist hotspots. National priority categories remain in place that mean only older people or those with serious health conditions can currently get vaccinated in most parts of the country – though regions have a certain amount of discretion to set their own vaccination plans.

Sicily in particular has found itself with thousands of unused doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, after two people in the region died soon after they received the jab. While neither death is confirmed to have been caused by the vaccine, the incidents have contributed to hesitancy and left Sicily the region with the lowest percentage of doses delivered actually administered: around 75 percent, compared to a national average of 82 percent.

Regional governor Nello Musumeci has been pushing to make doses more easily available, including offering jabs to over-60s without appointments for a limited period and now opening vaccinations on small islands even to young, healthy adults.

READ ALSO: 

While local authorities say mass vaccinations on small islands are justified on health grounds, ‘Covid-free islands’ also stand to benefit economically as Italy reopens travel this month.

The government is inviting vaccinated or tested visitors back from mid-May via a Covid-19 green pass that certifies either full vaccination, antibodies or a recent negative test result.

“The world wants to travel to Italy, the pandemic has forced us to close, but Italy is ready to welcome back the world,” Prime Minister Mario Draghi declared this week. “It’s time to book your holiday in Italy, we can’t wait to welcome you again.”

Find all our latest news updates on travel to, from and within Italy here.

Member comments

  1. This website has been handy for me, as I am in my first year of studies in Italy, and this period has been tough with all the restrictions. I would check this website almost every day to see the latest news on the rules updates. Totally worth the subscription.

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EU

How would a ‘youth mobility scheme’ between the UK and EU really work?

The EU and the UK could enter into a 'youth mobility' scheme allowing young people to move countries to work, study and live. Here's what we know about the proposal.

Published: 18 April 2024 17:09 CEST
How would a 'youth mobility scheme' between the UK and EU really work?

Across the 27 countries of the EU, people of all ages can move countries to work, study, spend a long visit or chase the possibility of love – and all this is possible thanks to EU freedom of movement.

That freedom no longer extends to the UK. As a result of Brexit, a UK national who wants to move to an EU country, or an EU citizen who wants to move to the UK, will need a visa in order to do so.

However, a new ‘mobility scheme’ could re-create some elements of freedom of movement, if the EU and UK can come to an agreement.

The European Commission on Thursday announced proposals for a ‘youth mobility scheme’.

Who would benefit?

First things first, it’s only for the youngsters, older people will have to continue with the time-consuming and often expensive process of getting a visa for study, work or visiting.

The Commission’s proposal is for a scheme that covers people aged 18 to 30. 

Their reasoning is: “The withdrawal of the UK from the EU has resulted in decreased mobility between the EU and the UK. This situation has particularly affected the opportunities for young people to experience life on the other side of the Channel and to benefit from youth, cultural, educational, research and training exchanges.

“The proposal seeks to address in an innovative way the main barriers to mobility for young people experienced today and create a right for young people to travel from the EU to the UK and vice-versa more easily and for a longer period of time.”

How would it work?

We’re still at an early stage, but the proposal is to allow extended stays – for young people to be able to spend up to four years in the EU or UK – under a special type of visa or residency permit. It does not, therefore, replicate the paperwork-free travel of the pre-Brexit era.

The Commission states that travel should not be ‘purpose bound’ to allow young people to undertake a variety of activities while they are abroad.

Under the visa system, people must travel to a country for a specific purpose which has been arranged before they leave – ie in order to study they need a student visa which requires proof of enrolment on a course, or if they intend to work they need a working visa which often requires sponsorship from an employer.

The proposal would allow young people to spend their time in a variety of ways – perhaps some time working, a period of study and then some time travelling or just relaxing.

It would also not be subject to national or Bloc-wide quotas.

It seems that some kind of visa or residency permit would still be required – but it would be issued for up to four years and could be used for a variety of activities.

Fees for this should not be “excessive” – and the UK’s health surcharge would not apply to people travelling under this scheme.

Are there conditions?

Other than the age qualification, the proposal is that young people would have to meet other criteria, including having comprehensive health insurance, plus financial criteria to ensure that they will be able to support themselves while abroad.

The visa/residency permit could be rejected on the ground of threats to public policy, public security or public health.

Will this happen soon?

Slow down – what’s happened today is that the European Commission has made a recommendation to open negotiations.

This now needs to be discussed in the Council of Europe.

If the Council agrees then, and only then, will the EU open negotiations with the UK on the subject. The scheme could then only become a reality if the EU and UK come to an agreement on the terms of the scheme, and then refine the fine details.

Basically we’re talking years if it happens at all, and there’s plenty of steps along the way that could derail the whole process.

Don’t start packing just yet.

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