Italy's Covid-19 vaccine rollout has picked up pace. On April 29, half a million jabs were administered in one day, with the country regularly meeting the target of over a third of a million vaccinations a day. Over have been given and almost have received at least one dose. Now Italy may open up the campaign to everyone, regardless of age and perhaps without the need for an appointment.

Vaccine Tsar, General Francesco Figliuolo, aims to safeguard those most at risk of Covid-19 – the over-65s and the clinically vulnerable – by the end of May. The goal appears achievable, particularly if the country meets the target of half a million jabs a day by June.

Protecting the over-65s means taking the pressure off the Italian health service. The elderly account for 95% of the nation's deaths and there are about 13.8 million over-65s. As of May 3, around 9 million of the most vulnerable – the elderly, fragile or those working in at-risk professions – had been vaccinated. Of these, about 5.3 million have received both doses.

The second phase in June will require the use of the viral vector vaccines Vaxzevria (manufactured by AstraZeneca) and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson). Yesterday, the General that it was likely that in the “rolling review” AstraZeneca would also be recommended for the under-60s.

The history of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Italy is tortuous. In early February, the Italian Medicine Agency (AIFA) decided to approve it only for the under-55s. After a couple of weeks, that wast raised to the under-65s.  Then, after a small number of suspected cases of thrombosis in Europe, including Italy, on March 15 its use was blocked completely. Three days later, the European drug agency (EMA) gave the vaccine the green light, stating that suspected adverse reactions were extremely rare. However, Italy, like several other countries, restricted the vaccine to the over-60s. A few days ago, Health Minister Roberto Speranza argued that that limit could be dropped. Yesterday, General Figliuolo went further.

"It is likely that in what is called rolling review… AstraZeneca can also be recommended for the under-60s". Rapidly reaching herd immunity will require the use of all available vaccines. "AstraZeneca is recommended for certain groups but the EMA says it's good for everyone, as Britain has shown."

Italy is also considering vaccinating 12-15 year olds, perhaps as early as June.

So should you go ahead and book that summer holiday in Tuscany or Puglia? The figures are looking good. Yesterday, Italy registered only 5,948 new cases and 256 deaths. While numbers are always lower on Monday because of delays over the weekend, it is still the lowest tally since October 2020.

But a lot could go wrong before tourists are sipping spritzes in front of the Pantheon again. Scenes like those last weekend in in Piazza del Duomo in Milan, where fans celebrated Inter winning the Seria A title for the first time in 11 years, are worrying. A few more potential super-spreader events like this and Italy could be heading for another lockdown.