Italy scraps fines for COVID-19 vaccine opponents

The Italian government has scrapped fines on people who refused to get mandatory COVID-19 jabs, it said in a statement late on Monday, after they were introduced to boost vaccinations with the country struggling to curb the pandemic.

Italy has been one of the country's hardest hit by the pandemic, which was discovered in early 2020, recording over 190,000 deaths, according to World Health Organization figures.

Mario Draghi, the predecessor of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, made vaccination mandatory for teachers and health workers and extended that to everyone over 50 during his mandate between 2021-22.

A refusal resulted in suspension from work without pay for public employees, while those aged over 50 faced fines of 100 euros ($105).

A cabinet statement said fines were abrogated and all obligations to pay had been scrapped. Italian media had floated the idea of reimbursements to those who had paid, but this was not mentioned in the statement.

Meloni, who took office in late 2022 at the helm of a rightist coalition, had accused her predecessors Draghi and Giuseppe Conte of taking an ideological approach to COVID, pledging to do things differently.

Opposition parties reacted with outrage to the move.

"Taking away the fines from those who have not been vaccinated is a way of winking at no-vaccination plotters and deniers," said Riccardo Magi, a lawmaker from the small +Europa party.