V-day, the first 5 vaccinated in Italy in Rome. The nurse Claudia: “Let’s all get vaccinated”

A morning of hope for the whole country. When he starts talking Claudia Alivernini, 29, a nurse from the Spallanzani Institute in Rome, the first in Italy to be vaccinated, is excited. She repeats it herself, with a smile that, despite the mask, illuminates her face, while she tells us how she feels, a few minutes after the administration of the vaccine.

«It is essential for all of us to get vaccinated, to continue to respect the precautions obviously because the virus will continue to exist.

It doesn’t end today. This is a day of hope, we are finally starting to get out of this tremendous battle“. In the square in front of the Spallanzani Institute, the comings and goings are continuous. Doctors, nurses, politicians and executives enter and exit the main entrance to participate in the vaccine Day, that today 27 December marks the start of vaccination in Italy and throughout Europe aimed at guaranteeing immunity against Covid-19.

“This vaccine is the only strong and valid tool we have to be able to get out of this nightmare,” the doctor tells us Alessandra Vergori, among the five people vaccinated at Spallanzani. “The vaccine, together with the responsible behaviors that we have already adopted in recent months and that we will continue to adopt, it will allow us to get back to normal and hug our loved ones again, which I think is the most important thing».

With a look full of emotion Omar Altobelli, social health worker vaccinated early this morning at Spallanzani, retraces the months spent working in full emergency. “Today is my Christmas,” he sighs. “It’s a historic day, at least as far as I’m concerned. I am proud to be the first man vaccinated in Italy. It is a day of hope and we hope to have given a positive signal to everyone ». And on the fears related to the vaccine, he repeats: «On a physical level, it must have been the emotion but I didn’t feel anything, anyone can feel comfortable. I am not afraid, I have completely relied on science».

Not far away, surrounded by journalists and photographers is there Maria Rosaria Capobianchi, director of the Spallanzani Virology Laboratory in Rome. It was she, almost ten months ago, who isolated Covid19, together with her team of researchers. «These two moments mark the stages of this successful path which lasted less than a year, very short in the history of the fight against infectious diseases and we are not yet finished. We keep in mind that people need to agree to get vaccinated, understand its importance and be vaccinated. Reaching millions of people will not be easy, it will take a huge logistical effort that our institutions are working on».

At about 7 in the morning, when the first vaccines arrived for the inoculation of the first doses, he was also present the councilor for health Alessio D’Amato. “This is the future. It is a day of light, here where it all started on January 29th today there is a new beginning through the five vaccinated. An important sign to get out of the tunnel. We have great support from health workers and I believe this is the most important signal that can be given ». In the coming weeks, 179,000 health workers will be vaccinated in Lazio. The groups at risk will follow, also starting from the personal data, first the frail and the elderly, then all the others.

“The past months have been very hard, marked by fatigue and pain,” says the doctor Alessandra D’Abramo. “Today I feel it is a day of hope, a new beginning with respect to the pandemic.”