‘I need to work’: Italy’s green pass rule triggers rise in Covid jab uptake
Rule that pass must be presented to access workplaces forces hand of many vaccine-hesitant Italians
At the vaccination hub outside Termini train station in Rome, a steady flow of people have been turning up for their first Covid vaccine dose in recent days. The mood is begrudging. If I didn't have to do it, I wouldn't," said Rosanna Barbuto, a supermarket worker. Catalin, 41, who works in a factory, said: I'm taking it because I need to work."
They are among the vaccine-hesitant who caved in after Italy made it mandatory for all workers to present a so-called green pass to access their workplaces. The rules are the strictest in Europe and require workers to present proof of vaccination, immunity or of a negative test taken within the previous 48 hours. Some see Italy's cautious approach as the key to its current low infection rate.
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