​​Italian region of Veneto stops tests for the unvaccinated

Veneto has decided to suspend tests for unvaccinated people to privilege those with symptoms and vulnerable cases, the regional health authorities announced on Thursday.

The decision was taken due to the lack of sanitary staff and concerning COVID-19 data. The Northern region of Veneto has the highest number of cases in the country, with 5,018 new instances registered on Thursday.

However, unvaccinated people can still get tested in private healthcare facilities or pharmacies.

The scientific association of emergency staff professionals, SIMEU, has warned the government that services might be cut if cases continue to rise.

Veneto health authorities want to invest all their energy in the third dose vaccination campaign, aiming to vaccinate 40,000 people per day.

At the moment, there is a high number of booster bookings with long waiting lists across Italy, Veneto included.

Regional authorities are trying to reopen older vaccination centres to increase the number of slots available.

Health minister Roberto Speranza said that the government expects a further increase in bookings after the Italian Medicines Agency approved the BioNTech Pfizer vaccine last week for the 5-11 age group. On Thursday, General Francesco Paolo Figliuolo said that children can be vaccinated from 16 December.

(Eleonora Vasques | EURACTIV.com)