A bullet accompanied by an anonymous letter saying “children do not touch” and death threats to her and her family. It is what it received from Antonella Viola, immunologist, professor of general pathology at the University of Padua and director of the Città della Speranza Pediatric Research Institute. Here, in his office, the envelope of threats arrived.
In recent weeks, like many of her colleagues, she has spent herself on vaccinating against Covid for children, also underlining the increase in infections among the youngest ones. “I am instructed to say that children must not be vaccinated or they will shoot me or my family”, wrote Dr. Viola on social media confirming the threats. “These are the novax who only know how to hate, reject logic and laws, create tension and violence. I am obviously embittered because I have spent the last 2 years in the service of the community, without sparing myself, taking time away from my family and myself. I’m angry with those who wink at certain people, who question our seriousness and freedom from any conditioning. But I will continue to do my best to give science a voice and speak to those who want to listen. Always guided by ethics, responsibility and love ».
Since yesterday, Dr. Viola has been under guard. Two carabinieri have been assigned to you. A condition that seems unthinkable in a country like ours. How does it happen that a doctor gets under guard because he tells people to get vaccinated? We talked about it with Matteo Bassetti, director of the Infectious Diseases Clinic at the San Martino hospital in Genoa, who has lived this life, under escort, for six months.
What feeling does all this leave on you?
«The feeling is that Dr. Viola is unfortunately only the latest in a long line of people who have had even greater problems. I have received death threats directed at my children, anonymous letters saying they will kill me, that they know where to find my wife, that they will tear them apart, that they will kill her. On New Year’s Eve a guy showed up at my house in the mountains who wanted to tear me to pieces, he is nothing more than what we have seen so many times, myself in the last year. It does not surprise me at all and obviously I express maximum solidarity with Antonella Viola ».
Threats to doctors have been on the agenda since the beginning of the pandemic.
«The serious thing is that they reach us who are among the” well-known “but there are also many threats that reach our less prominent colleagues that no one considers. Basically we are now in the crosshairs of this movements which are, in my opinion, subversive and terrorist and should be considered as such. When someone writes that he will kill my children or send two bullets to the Viola it does not seem to me that we are facing no vax, civil demonstrations, we are facing criminals, violent ones. We are facing terrorists and they should be treated as such ».
The vaccination obligation for over 50s is exacerbating the situation even more.
“Precisely for this reason I believe that, like making a law, like a penalty, the judiciary must put itself in the order of ideas that doctors, but also journalists, politicians, are protected. A law must be written whereby anyone who threatens a pro vaccine doctor commits a crime and must be quickly punished. It is unthinkable that after a year none of these have yet had a trial, it must be understood that if you threaten to kill a doctor you go to jail ».
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