‘Up to 80pc’ in Sicily refuse AZ vaccine: president

ROME: Up to 80 per cent of people offered the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine In Sicily refuse it out of fears over its safety, according to the southern Italian region’s President Nello Musumeci.

Public confidence in the Anglo-Swedish jab has been badly shaken by reports linking it to rare, but potentially fatal, blood clots, and by conflicting recommendations on its use.

“In Sicily, there is an 80-per cent refusal rate of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Every 100 people, 80 say no,” Musumeci said late Saturday in Catania, according to multiple media reports.

Musumeci added: “It is natural” for people to be particularly concerned, “but we have a duty to believe scientists when they say it is more dangerous not to get vaccinated than to get vaccinated.”

The president actually meant to say “up to 80 per cent,” his spokeswoman Michela Giuffrida told AFP on Sunday, adding, as an example, that in the town of Syracuse the refusal rate was “30 per cent”.

A large-scale boycott of the AstraZeneca jab would put Italy’s vaccination plan—already struggling with supply shortages and botched priorities—under further stress.

Earlier this week, the European Medicine Agency (EMA) said blood clots should be listed as a “very rare” side effect of the AstraZeneca vaccine, but added that benefits continued to outweigh risks. The announcement came after EMA examined 86 blood clotting cases, 18 of which were fatal, out of around 25 million people in Europe who received the AstraZeneca vaccine. Most of the cases were in women aged under 60.

In response to the findings, Italy—which initially recommended the AstraZeneca vaccine for those in the 18-55 age group—restricted its use to those aged 60 and above. Similar action was taken in other European countries.

Overall, Italy has administered almost 13 million doses and fully vaccinated 3.9 million people—equal to around 6.5 per cent of a total population of some 60 million.