The Italian government announced it will make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for people aged 50 and older starting next month. “We want to slow down the growth of the contagion curve and push Italians who still aren’t vaccinated to do so,” Prime Minister Mario Draghi said during a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, according to a statement from his office. “We are acting in particular on age groups that are most at risk of hospitalization, to reduce pressure on hospitals and save lives.” On Jan. 4, about 170,000 new infections were confirmed in the country of 59 million people, according to John Hopkins University data. “Today’s measures aim to keep our hospitals functioning well and, at the same time, keep open schools and business activities,” Draghi told the cabinet, the prime minister’s spokesperson quoted him as saying. Some 78 percent of Italy’s population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the illness caused by …