Thursday 12th December officially saw the handover to Department of Health ’National vaccine hub at Pratica di Mare, the structure identified in 2021 at the “Mario de Bernardi” military airport for the storage of medical products and to meet the strategic storage and preservation needs of Covid vaccines in a climate-controlled environment with an appropriate security framework.
The handover was formalised by a document signed by the Commander of the Air Experimentation Department of Aeronautics and Space (DASAS), Air Division General Luciano Ippoliti, representative of the recipient institution of the’National Hub, by Colonel Alessandro Scalcione, representing the Defence Administration, and by Dr Eleonora Di Giulio, representing the Ministry of Health, on delegation from the Head of Department of Prevention, of research and health emergencies, Dr. Maria Rosaria Campitiello.
With the handover of the building's keys, a virtuous project is thus materialised, which has seen the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Health working synergistically, leveraging the skills, professionalism and capabilities of the personnel of the involved bodies, with a view to an effective and prompt response to health emergencies and increasingly effective logistical optimisation.
It New Vaccine Hub, thanks to the work of 2nd Air Force Engineers Department. having directed and coordinated the construction work, has been developed according to the most modern criteria for environmental impact reduction and technological modernity. Advanced digitalised systems and cutting-edge infrastructure will allow for the safe and controlled storage of the materials to be located there.
The D.A.S.A.S. It represents the first and only example in Italy of the rationalisation and centralisation within a single structure of individual study and experimentation centres dependent on an Armed Force. An Organism which, in synergy with national and international aeronautical excellences, carries out study, experimentation, testing, technical-operational evaluation, and research support activities for new aeronautical weapon systems, also for the benefit of other Armed Forces and/or Armed Corps of the State, when requested. The Aeronautical and Space Experimentation Air Division also ensures technical-logistical, administrative, and operational support to the AM Bodies/Departments located on the airport site, as well as to Bodies of other Armed Forces and Armed Corps of the State present. Finally, it ensures the necessary services for the safe and effective conduct of flight activities and the management of activities connected to the reception, embarkation, and disembarkation of personnel, materials, and equipment arriving at and departing from Pratica di Mare Airport.
