Populist Italian Senator Matteo Salvini has come out against vaccinating people he says are not at risk of serious complications of the Wuhan coronavirus, stressing that Italy must ease lockdown restrictions.
Salvini, who leads Italy’s most popular political party, the League, told reporters this week in Rome: “I think that vaccinating those who are not at risk is not good.”
Adding: “We must do as other countries, such as Germany, do.”
“The vaccine secures the elderly and those with other conditions. There can be no AstraZeneca every other day,” he said, according to newspaper Il Giornale.
On Friday, Italy halted the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine for those under the age of 60. The decision followed the death of 18-year-old Camilla Canepa, who died last week of a rare form of blood clotting and a brain haemorrhage after receiving the AstraZeneca shot on the 25th of May.
Populist Senator Matteo Salvini’s League, along with their allies Forza Italia, has called on the Italian government to suspend taxes in areas under lockdown to save local businesses. https://t.co/O3eXgg1KLd
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) November 8, 2020
Salvini also stated that he wanted to get rid of more Wuhan coronavirus restrictions, saying: “We have reopened, and now we want it to be no longer mandatory to wear anti-Covid face masks in the open air.”
The League leader, who has been seen as a possible future prime minister of Italy, has pushed for a loosening of lockdown restrictions since last year and has even called on the government to not charge taxes to businesses forced to close their doors due to the restrictions.
In March, after joining the grand coalition government of Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Salvini called for “surgical” lockdowns rather than a general lockdown of the country, which he said would be “punitive”.
Salvini’s centre-right ally Giorgia Meloni, meanwhile, decided to stay in opposition to Draghi’s government and has seen a rapid rise in the polls, becoming the second-largest party, behind the League, in several recently released surveys.
A poll released earlier this month revealed that Salvini’s centre-right coalition maintained a 52 per cent lead over left-wing party rivals, which have largely floundered during the reign of Prime Minister Draghi, with the two largest leftist parties totalling just 18 and 16 per cent.
Salvini Coalition Polling at 52 Per Cent as Italian Left Flounders https://t.co/93vFp8CzdC
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) June 6, 2021
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