First AstraZeneca vaccine shipment lands in Italy

first delivery of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines arrived in Italy on Saturday.Italy's Ministry of Defence said that 249,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine arrived at Pratica Di Mare military airport, about 40 kilometers (24 miles) south of capital Rome. base functions as a national hub for vaccine distribution across Italy.

Ministry said that doses will be distributed to country's regions by army in coming days. health ministry predicted that Italians could receive ir AstraZeneca vaccinations from as early as next week.

But despite welcoming imminent arrival of vaccine, government expressed disappointment at number of doses received from manufacturers so far.Initial expectations were that Italy would receive 28 million doses of vaccine in first trimester of 2021, or nine million a month.Only two million doses arrived in January, far less than those expected.