Italy’s government is readying a mandate that will make it required for all workers to have a COVID-19 “green pass,” a type of vaccine passport, officials said Thursday. “We are heading towards a mandatory green pass not only for public sector workers but also private sector ones,” Regional Affairs Minister Mariastella Gelmini was quoted as saying by The Local on Wednesday. “The vaccine is the only weapon we have against COVID and we can only contain infections by vaccinating the large majority of the population,” she said. Mariastella said that a cabinet meeting “will be an important moment” in mandating the green pass for all private sector and public sector workers in the country. Should Italy go through with the mandate, it would be the first country in Europe to do so. Several European countries such as France or Switzerland have vaccine passport requirements in place at venues such as, gyms, …