Italy's New Law Requires Workers to Get Covid Vaccine or Testing - The New York Times

Italy’s measures, which require proof of vaccination, a negative rapid swab test or recent recovery from Covid-19 to go to the workplace, now stand as some of the toughest among Western democracies, which have struggled to balance public health needs with civil liberty concerns.

In France, President Emmanuel Macron has tried to make life uncomfortable for unvaccinated people, requiring a health pass to enter restaurants and for long-distance train travel, for instance, but has mandated vaccines only for some essential workers.

Under Italy’s new rules, those who do not have a Green Pass, as the health certificate is called, must take unpaid leave.

Last weekend, a demonstration of 10,000 Green Pass opponents — a mix of vaccine skeptics, conspiracy theorists, anti-establishment types and workers livid about having to pay for frequent swabs — was hijacked by right-wing extremists and turned violent, prompting Italy to once again reckon with its fascist legacy.

Government officials said that the measure was already working, and that more than 500,000 previously reluctant people — much higher than expected — have gotten inoculated since the government announced its plan last month.

But to reach the most reluctant unvaccinated workers — an estimated 3.8 million people — the government has now taken one of the Western world’s hardest lines.

At Rome’s Circus Maximus, the ancient chariot-racing track often used for major rallies with tens of thousands of people, a couple of thousand protesters waved banners reading “Liberty” and “The Green Pass Is Just the Beginning” at one end of the field.

David De Mommio, a 41-year-old furrier from nearby Prato, said that instead of getting vaccinated he would take a swab test every two days to go to work.

That group includes: vaccine recipients who are 65 or older or who live in long-term care facilities; adults who are at high risk of severe Covid-19 because of an underlying medical condition; health care workers and others whose jobs put them at risk.

People with weakened immune systems are eligible for a third dose of either Pfizer or Moderna four weeks after the second shot.

has said the conditions that qualify a person for a booster shot include: hypertension and heart disease; diabetes or obesity; cancer or blood disorders; weakened immune system; chronic lung, kidney or liver disease; dementia and certain disabilities.

authorized boosters for workers whose jobs put them at high risk of exposure to potentially infectious people.

For now, Pfizer vaccine recipients are advised to get a Pfizer booster shot, and Moderna and Johnson & Johnson recipients should wait until booster doses from those manufacturers are approved.

The government has said it considers vaccines the only way out of the pandemic.

And it has said that if the current formula for the Green Pass failed to promote more vaccinations, it would consider making it even tougher.

While the swabs, each costing around $20, can be a financial burden for workers, the increased volume of tests could also be a logistical burden for the health system, which is already experiencing a backlog.