Context

The vaccination campaign in Italy started on December 27th 2020. The data was pulled from the Italian Open Data Github repository, the column names were translated from Italian into English.

Content

The data contains the following information: * Administration date: date of the vaccine administration * Vaccine supplier * Region: abbreviation of the Italian region * Age range: age group * Number of males: number of vaccinated males * Number of females: number of vaccinated females * First dose: number of administered first vaccine doses * Second dose: number of administered second vaccine doses * Previous infection: number of administrated doses to subjects previously infected with COVID-19 * Additional/booster doses: number of administrated additional doses or boosters * Second booster: number of administrated fourth doses to people who completed primary vaccination series (2 doses plus additional dose) at least 4 months (120 days) before * NUTS1 code: European code for major socio-economic regions * NUTS2 code: European code for basic regions for the application of regional policies * ISTAT code: region code by Italian National Institute of Statistics * Region name: full name of Italian regions

Acknowledgments

This dataset is possible thanks to datateam-opendata which is a part of the Extraordinary Commissioner for the Covid-19 emergency.

Inspiration

Track vaccination campaign in Italy and answer questions: * What region is the most efficient in the vaccination? Normalize it to the region population * Is there any difference in vaccine suppliers among the regions? * How vaccination priorities evolved over time?

The number of COVID-19 vaccination doses administered per 100 people in Italy rose to 244 as of Oct 27 2023. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for Italy Coronavirus Vaccination Rate.

Introduction: In 2021, the European Medicines Agency supported the “Covid Vaccine Monitor (CVM),” an active surveillance project spanning 13 European countries aimed at monitoring the safety of COVID-19 vaccines in general and special populations (i.e., pregnant/breastfeeding women, children/adolescents, immunocompromised people, and people with a history of allergies or previous SARS-CoV-2 infection). Italy participated in this project as a large multidisciplinary network called the “ilmiovaccinoCOVID19 collaborating group.”Methods: The study aimed to describe the experience of the Italian network “ilmiovaccinoCOVID19 collaborating group” in the CVM context from June 2021 to February 2023. Comprising about 30 partners, the network aimed to facilitate vaccinee recruitment. Participants completed baseline and follow-up questionnaires within 48 h from vaccination over a 6-month period. Analyses focused on those who completed both the baseline and the first follow-up questionnaire (Q1), exploring temporal trends, vaccination campaign correlation, and loss to follow-up. Characteristics of recruited vaccinees and vaccinee-reported adverse drug reactions (ADRs) were compared with passive surveillance data in Italy.Results: From June 2021 to November 2022, 22,384,663 first doses and 38,207,452 booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered in Italy. Simultaneously, the study enrolled 1,229 and 2,707 participants for the first and booster doses, respectively. Of these, 829 and 1,879 vaccinees, respectively, completed both baseline and at least Q1 and were included in the analyses, with a significant proportion of them (57.8%/34.3%) belonging to special cohorts. Most vaccinees included in the analyses were women. Comirnaty® (69%) and Spikevax® (29%) were the most frequently administered vaccines. ADR rates following Comirnaty® and Spikevax® were higher after the second dose, particularly following Spikevax®. Serious ADRs were infrequent. Differences were observed in ADR characteristics between CVM and Italian passive surveillance.Conclusion: This study confirmed the favorable safety profile of COVID-19 vaccines, with findings consistent with pivotal clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines, although different proportions of serious ADRs compared to spontaneous reporting were observed. Continuous evaluation through cohort event monitoring studies provides real-time insights crucial for regulatory responses. Strengthening infrastructure and implementing early monitoring strategies are essential to enhance vaccine safety assessment and prepare for future pandemics.

Background: The concern for adverse events following immunization (AEFI) and anti-vaccination movements that lacked scientific evidence-based supports may reduce vaccine uptake in the general population. Thus, the aims of the present study were to characterize AEFI in general population (all age groups), in terms of frequency, preventability, and seriousness and to define predictors of their seriousness in children.Methods: A retrospective study was performed on suspected AEFI reports for children and adults who received any form of vaccinations, collected in Tuscany, Italy, between 1 January and 31 December 2017. Patients’ characteristics, suspected vaccines, and AEFI description were collected. Causality and preventability were assessed using WHO and Schumock and Thornton algorithms, respectively. Logistic regression was used to estimate the reporting odds ratios of potential predictors of AEFI seriousness in children.Results: A total of 223 suspected AEFI reports were collected, and the majority of them were defined as non-serious (76.7%). Reports were mostly related to one vaccine, and to a median of two to five strains/toxoids. The total number of simultaneously administered strains/toxoids and the presence of allergens did not correlate with AEFI seriousness. Considering vaccines with a high number of administered doses (≥60,000 doses), the rates estimated for serious AEFI reports were always very low, ranging between 0.01 and 0.2/1,000 doses. Twenty-four vaccines (8,993 doses) were not related to any AEFI.Conclusion: Results of present study showed that AEFI were very rare; the vast majority of them was non-serious and, despite the claims of anti-vaccination movements, the simultaneous administration of vaccines was safe and did not influence the risk of reporting a serious AEFI, particularly in children.

This dataset corresponds to paper titled "COVID-19: Risks of Re-emergence, Re-infection, and Control Measures -- A Long Term Modeling Study". In this work we define a modified SEIR model that accounts for the spread of infection during the latent period, infections from asymptomatic or pauci-symptomatic infected individuals, potential loss of acquired immunity, people’s increasing awareness of social distancing and the use of vaccination as well as non-pharmaceutical interventions like social confinement. We estimate model parameters in three different scenarios - in Italy, where there is a growing number of cases and re-emergence of the epidemic, in India, where there are significant number of cases post confinement period and in Victoria, Australia where a re-emergence has been controlled with severe social confinement program. Our result shows the benefit of long term confinement of 50% or above population and extensive testing. With respect to loss of acquired immunity, our model suggests higher impact for Italy. We also show that a reasonably effective vaccine with mass vaccination program can be successful in significantly controlling the size of infected population. We show that for India, a reduction in contact rate by 50% compared to a reduction of 10% in the current stage can reduce death from 0.0268% to 0.0141% of population. Similarly, for Italy we show that reducing contact rate by half can reduce a potential peak infection of 15% population to less than 1.5% of population, and potential deaths from 0.48% to 0.04%. With respect to vaccination, we show that even a 75% efficient vaccine administered to 50% population can reduce the peak number of infected population by nearly 50% in Italy. Similarly, for India, a 0.056% of population would die without vaccination, while 93.75% efficient vaccine given to 30\% population would bring this down to 0.036% of population, and 93.75% efficient vaccine given to 70% population would bring this down to 0.034%.

This dataset corresponds to paper titled "A Mathematical Model for COVID-19 Considering Waning Immunity, Vaccination and Control Measures". In this work we define a modified SEIR model that accounts for the spread of infection during the latent period, infections from asymptomatic or pauci-symptomatic infected individuals, potential loss of acquired immunity, people’s increasing awareness of social distancing and the use of vaccination as well as non-pharmaceutical interventions like social confinement. We estimate model parameters in three different scenarios - in Italy, where there is a growing number of cases and re-emergence of the epidemic, in India, where there are significant number of cases post confinement period and in Victoria, Australia where a re-emergence has been controlled with severe social confinement program. Our result shows the benefit of long term confinement of 50% or above population and extensive testing. With respect to loss of acquired immunity, our model suggests higher impact for Italy. We also show that a reasonably effective vaccine with mass vaccination program can be successful in significantly controlling the size of infected population. We show that for India, a reduction in contact rate by 50% compared to a reduction of 10% in the current stage can reduce death from 0.0268% to 0.0141% of population. Similarly, for Italy we show that reducing contact rate by half can reduce a potential peak infection of 15% population to less than 1.5% of population, and potential deaths from 0.48% to 0.04%. With respect to vaccination, we show that even a 75% efficient vaccine administered to 50% population can reduce the peak number of infected population by nearly 50% in Italy. Similarly, for India, a 0.056% of population would die without vaccination, while 93.75% efficient vaccine given to 30\% population would bring this down to 0.036% of population, and 93.75% efficient vaccine given to 70% population would bring this down to 0.034%.

BackgroundThe impact of seasonal influenza vaccination (SIV) on mortality is still controversial; some studies have claimed that increasing vaccination coverage rates is beneficial, while others have found no significant association. This study aimed to construct a granular longitudinal dataset of local VCRs and assess their effect on pneumonia- and influenza-related (P&I) mortality among Italian adults aged ≥ 65 years.MethodsNUTS-3 (nomenclature of territorial units for statistics) level data on SIV coverage were collected via a survey of local data holders. Fixed- and random-effects panel regression modeling, when adjusted for potential confounders, was performed to assess the association between local SIV coverage rates and P&I mortality in older adults.ResultsA total of 1,144 local VCRs from 2003 to 2019 were ascertained. In the fully adjusted fixed-effects model, each 1% increase in vaccination coverage was associated (P < 0.001) with a 0.6% (95% CI: 0.3–0.9%) average over-time decrease in P&I mortality. With an annual average of 9,293 P&I deaths in Italy, this model suggested that 56 deaths could have been avoided each year by increasing SIV coverage by 1%. The random-effects model produced similar results. The base-case results were robust in a sensitivity analysis.ConclusionOver the last two decades, Italian jurisdictions with higher SIV uptake had, on average, fewer P&I deaths among older adults. Local policy-makers should implement effective strategies to increase SIV coverage in the Italian senior population.

To date there has been limited head-to-head evaluation of immune responses to different types of COVID-19 vaccines. A real-world population-based longitudinal study was designed with the aim to define the magnitude and duration of immunity induced by each of four different COVID-19 vaccines available in Italy at the time of this study. Overall, 2497 individuals were enrolled at time of their first vaccination (T0). Vaccine-specific antibody responses induced over time by Comirnaty, Spikevax, Vaxzevria, Janssen Ad26.COV2.S and heterologous vaccination were compared up to six months after immunization. On a subset of Comirnaty vaccinees, serology data were correlated with the ability to neutralize a reference SARS-CoV-2 B strain, as well as Delta AY.4 and Omicron BA.1. The frequency of SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, and memory B cells induced by the four different vaccines was assessed six months after the immunization. We found that mRNA vaccines are stronger inducer of anti-Spike IgG and B-memory cell responses. Humoral immune responses are lower in frail elderly subjects. Neutralization of the Delta AY.4 and Omicron BA.1 variants is severely impaired, especially in older individuals. Most vaccinees display a vaccine-specific T-cell memory six months after the vaccination. By describing the immunological response during the first phase of COVID-19 vaccination campaign in different cohorts and considering several aspects of the immunological response, this study allowed to collect key information that could facilitate the implementation of effective prevention and control measures against SARS-CoV-2.

This record contains data related to article "Dose-Dependent Impairment of the Immune Response to the Moderna-1273 mRNA Vaccine by Mycophenolate Mofetil in Patients with Rheumatic and Autoimmune Liver Diseases"

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the Moderna-1273 mRNA vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 in patients with immune-mediated diseases under different treatments. Anti-trimeric spike protein antibodies were tested in 287 patients with rheumatic or autoimmune diseases (10% receiving mycophenolate mofetil, 15% low-dose glucocorticoids, 21% methotrexate, and 58% biologic/targeted synthetic drugs) at baseline and in 219 (76%) 4 weeks after the second Moderna-1273 mRNA vaccine dose. Family members or caretakers were enrolled as the controls. The neutralizing serum activity against SARS-CoV-2-G614, alpha, and beta variants in vitro and the cytotoxic T cell response to SARS-CoV-2 peptides were determined in a subgroup of patients and controls. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody development, i.e., seroconversion, was observed in 69% of the mycophenolate-treated patients compared to 100% of both the patients taking other treatments and the controls (p < 0.0001). A dose-dependent impairment of the humoral response was observed in the mycophenolate-treated patients. A daily dose of >1 g at vaccination was a significant risk factor for non-seroconversion (ROC AUC 0.89, 95% CI 0.80-98, p < 0.0001). Moreover, in the seroconverted patients, a daily dose of >1 g of mycophenolate was associated with significantly lower anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody titers, showing slightly reduced neutralizing serum activity but a comparable cytotoxic response compared to other immunosuppressants. In non-seroconverted patients treated with mycophenolate at a daily dose of >1 g, the cytotoxic activity elicited by viral peptides was also impaired. Mycophenolate treatment affects the Moderna-1273 mRNA vaccine immunogenicity in a dose-dependent manner, independent of rheumatological disease.

IntroductionIn Italy, universal varicella vaccination (VV) started in 2017 with a two-dose schedule administered in children aged 12–15 months and 5–6 years, achieving 90% coverage in 2019, though with regional variations. To address the limitations in surveillance databases for capturing varicella episodes, the study aimed to evaluate the burden of varicella disease in the pediatric population using a primary care database.MethodsThis cohort study used data from Pedianet, a comprehensive database of 193 family pediatricians in Italy. The incidence rate (IR) of varicella (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification [ICD-9-CM] codes 052 and 052.0–52.9) was evaluated in children aged below 15 years, from January 2004 to April 2022, categorized by calendar year and region. Subjects were followed up from 2004 or their enrollment date until the end of assistance or the study period. Comorbidities and complications were identified.ResultsA total of 253,221 children aged below 15 years (resulting in a total follow-up of 1,430,249 person-years) were included in the study. A total of 35,614 varicella index cases were identified in 35,199 subjects (13.9%), with 1.2% experiencing two infections. Complications following varicella occurred in 467 children (1.3%), primarily affecting the skin and soft tissue (46.3%) and the respiratory tract (22.3%). The IR in regions that implemented the VV program before 2017 ranged from 38.3 per 1,000 person-years in 2007 to 0.8 per 1,000 person-years in 2022, while in those that implemented the VV in 2017, the IR decreased from 49.8 per 1,000 person-years in 2017 to 3.2 per 1,000 person-years in 2022. In the Veneto Region, following the implementation of VV in 2006, the IR significantly decreased by 20.5 annually (95% CI: −23.4, −17.5), ranging from 50.2 per 1,000 person-years in 2006 to 1.2 per 1,000 person-years in 2022.ConclusionThe implementation of VV drastically reduced the IR of varicella, further confirming the importance of universal VV coverage.

AimSARS-CoV-2 infection is a world-wide public health problem. Several aspects of its pathogenesis and the related clinical consequences still need elucidation. In Italy, Sardinia has had very low numbers of infections. Taking advantage of the low genetic polymorphism in the Sardinian population, we analyzed clinical, genetic and immunogenetic factors, with particular attention to HLA class I and II molecules, to evaluate their influence on susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the clinical outcome.Method and MaterialsWe recruited 619 healthy Sardinian controls and 182 SARS-CoV-2 patients. Thirty-nine patients required hospital care and 143 were without symptoms, pauci-symptomatic or with mild disease. For all participants, we collected demographic and clinical data and analyzed the HLA allele and haplotype frequencies.ResultsMale sex and older age were more frequent in hospitalized patients, none of whom had been vaccinated during the previous seasonal flu vaccination campaignes. Compared to the group of asymptomatic or pauci-symptomatic patients, hospitalized patients also had a higher frequency of autoimmune diseases and glucose-6-phosphate-dehydrogenase (G6PDH) deficiency. None of these patients carried the beta-thalassemia trait, a relatively common finding in the Sardinian population. The extended haplotype HLA-A*02:05, B*58:01, C*07:01, DRB1*03:01 [OR 0.1 (95% CI 0–0.6), Pc = 0.015] was absent in all 182 patients, while the HLA-C*04:01 allele and the three-loci haplotype HLA-A*30:02, B*14:02, C*08:02 [OR 3.8 (95% CI 1.8–8.1), Pc = 0.025] were more frequently represented in patients than controls. In a comparison between in-patients and home care patients, the HLA-DRB1*08:01 allele was exclusively present in the hospitalized patients [OR > 2.5 (95% CI 2.7–220.6), Pc = 0.024].ConclusionThe data emerging from our study suggest that the extended haplotype HLA-A*02:05, B*58:01, C*07:01, DRB1*03:01 has a protective effect against SARS-CoV-2 infection in the Sardinian population. Genetic factors that resulted to have a negative influence on the disease course were presence of the HLA-DRB1*08:01 allele and G6PDH deficiency, but not the beta-thalassemic trait. Absence of influenza vaccination could be a predisposing factor for more severe disease.