Italian Bill Would Let Health Workers Struck Off Over Anti-Vaccination Violations Apply to Return

Italy's lower house of parliament approved a bill in October that would allow health workers removed from their professional registers during the pandemic for serious anti-vaccination-related violations to apply for reinstatement. The measure still needs to pass the Senate, the upper house of parliament, where a vote is scheduled for January.

Professional registers are the official lists that record who is licensed to practise medicine and related health work. According to The Guardian, the serious violations covered by the bill include promoting treatments that lacked a scientific basis.

The bill is championed by the Brothers of Italy party of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. It has strong backing from the League, the far-right party that is her coalition partner. Forza Italia, another ally in the coalition, was split over the proposal.

Approval in the lower house depended on support from National Future (FN), a rival far-right force led by former army general Roberto Vannacci. Vannacci has voiced opposition to vaccine mandates, which are rules requiring certain people to be vaccinated.

The debate takes place against a backdrop of public uncertainty about vaccines. A February report by the University of Turin's department of public health and paediatric sciences, published in The Lancet Regional Health Europe, found that nearly one in two Italian adults are hesitant about vaccination, meaning they are unsure or reluctant about getting vaccinated. The study sampled 50,000 adults across Italy.

The measure's next test is the Senate, where a vote is scheduled for January.