Italy has reached the target of fully vaccinating 80% of the population over the age of 12 against Covid-19, according to official data, achieving a goal the government had set as a safety cut-off point.
According to a government website, 43,229,551 people over-12, out of a total population of around 60 million, had completed their vaccination cycle as of 10 October.
The 80% target was set by special commissioner for the Covid emergency, army General Francesco Paolo Figliuolo, in March and was hit late on 9 October. "That's a critical level above which experts say - and the trend we've been recording for weeks confirms this - that the risk of hospitalisation is drastically reduced", the commissioner's office said.