Too late, too much

Today the Minister of Health, Professor Ferruccio Fazio, was asked in Parliament what to do with the unused doses of the swine flu vaccine. He was also questioned about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine itself, and about the costs of the campaign. Professor Fazio admitted that “the vaccine was available only when the first wave of the epidemic has begun”, and that the flu was, “thankfully”, really mild. These two facts have kept people away from the vaccine. Some 850,000 people got vaccinated, using a small fraction of the 10-million available doses. But there is this lesson of the swine flu, the vaccine supply was too late.

The Government expect to pay 184 million euros for 24 millions of doses, but the final figure could be less than that. According to the Minister, “the Government is evaluating some possibilities that could guarantee an appropriate use of the commitments decided by the Government against the swine flu.” The pronouncement isn't very clear, but it could mean the Government is going to sell the vaccine stock.

Newly appointed minister

Today Professor Ferrucio Fazio has been appointed to the newly created role of Minister of Health. He has received strong  support by his party's MPs, but also by  medical associations and business unions. In the last months he managed to prepare for the pandemic of swine flu, and many people owe that to him.
Things are going quite well,  especially in North Italy. In the southern regions, in Campania, Puglia and Calabria there's the highest death toll.
Total deaths 149
Abruzzo 3
Basilicata 1
Calabria 16
Campania 32
Emilia Romagna 10
Lazio 14
Liguria 4
Lombardia 9
Marche 1
Molise 3
Piemonte 8
Puglia 19
Sicilia 11
Toscana 4
Umbria 5
Veneto 8
P.A. Bolzano 1

Flu peaked in Italy, maybe

As the death toll soars to 85, the swine flu is still in the news. Today the Italian Deputy Health Minister Ferruccio Fazio has said that the vaccine is still effective, even though the virus has mutated. According to Fazio, it's likely that the flu pandemic has already peaked in Italy, infecting only some milions of people. Nevertheless, it's crucial that people in the high risk group get the vaccine, said Fazio. Gianni Rezza, Director of Infectious Desease Department of Istituto superiore di sanità, has confirmed that people need to stay alert and get vaccinated (if at-risk). According to the Ministry, more than 300,000 people have got the vaccine, out of almost 4 milions of doses available.

Swine flu at its peak: Week 46

Maybe the swine flu in Italy has reached its peak. Today InfluNet, the Italian surveillance network, has released updated datas for week 46, from November 9 to November 15. The incidence is 1.253%, a bit more than last week (1.227%). In the island of Sardinia  there's still one of the lowest incidences of flu cases (0.69%). The highest rate is again in Marche region (4.197%), followed by Abruzzo (3.492%), and Emilia-Romagna (1.917%), all in central Italy.