Italian president receives Moderna vaccine at the Spallanzani hospital.

Italy's president Sergio Mattarella received his first dose of the covid-19 vaccine in Rome at midday today, 9 March.

The head of state, who will be 80 this summer, was given the Moderna vaccine at the Spallanzani hospital, a specialist centre for infectious diseases which has played a central role in battling Italy's coronavirus crisis.

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The Quirinale released an image of the president seated in the hospital's vaccination area, noting that the Lazio region has begun to vaccinate people born in 1941 or earlier.

Mattarella received the vaccine one year to the day since Italy announced a nationwide lockdown in March 2020.

Photo Quirinale

Il Presidente #Mattarella essendo in corso a Roma la campagna di vaccinazione per coloro che sono nati negli anni 1941 e precedenti, si è sottoposto questa mattina alla #vaccinazione #anticovid nell’Istituto Spallanzani pic.twitter.com/7ZR6duWdL7

— Quirinale (@Quirinale) March 9, 2021