Present-day magisterial Roman Catholicism offers an interesting perspective on personhood. Recent interest in personhood has been fostered by Vatican II (1962-1965), especially the ‘Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World’ (Gaudium et spes) and the ‘Declaration on Religious Freedom’ (Dignitatis humanae). The anthropological thrust of Vatican II is particularly referred to the dignity of the human person, her mystery, and vocation. In all these aspects of personhood, the Church plays a fundamental role. In fact, the (Roman) Church is seen as safeguarding the dignity of the person , shedding light on the mystery of the person, and is the place where the person can fully accomplish his vocation. While the focus seems to be on the person, the Church is always in the background.

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Discussions of the “post-Christian” age are wide-spread and also bring an element of anxiety as the Western church confronts present-day challenges. The assumption is that in a post-Christian age, following Christ will be tougher than in the past. While it is important to fully grasp the surrounding cultural milieu in which the church finds herself, and in which she is witnessing, this is only one aspect of the overall picture as far as the task of the church is concerned. Some sketchy lessons and reflections on how to approach post-modernity can come from the way in which Christianity confronted modernity in the nineteenth century or the Roman Empire in the second century. Perhaps the post-Christian challenge is a providential way to re-discover the practical nature of the Christian vision embodied in personal discipline, vocations, church life and practices, and also civic responsibilities.

Background To prevent flu spread, Italian healthcare workers (HCWs) are annually recommended and given free flu vaccination. This measure of healthcare system protection resulted to be fundamental during COVID-19 pandemic to prevent staff shortage issue. Being the minimum coverage target set at 75%, we decided to evaluate vaccination adherence among HCWs at Udine University hospital. Methods The 2020 vaccination campaign started 4 weeks earlier than usual and was based on a multiple offer strategy including a daily-dedicated clinic, in-ward administrations along with wide vaccination agenda promotion within hospital. The prevalence and the characteristics of vaccinated HCWs were compared with the same 2019 data. Results During 2020, 1868 out of 3839 (48.7%) of HCWs were vaccinated, compared to 29.1% in 2019 (p < 0.0001). Doctors and residents were the most vaccinated categories in both years, being respectively 64.7% and 67.2% in 2020 vs 45.0% and 52.4% in 2019 (p < 0.0001). Midwives showed the best improvement in coverage passing from 44.4% to 20.4% (p = 0.0096). HCWs working in emergency areas and intensive care unit reached the highest adherence in 2020 (61.3%) and the best improvement compared to 2019 as well (37.9%; p < 0.0001). Conclusions Even if the target was not reached, strategies adopted for 2020 vaccination campaign significantly increased HCWs adherence. COVID-19 contribution in this achievement cannot be ruled out, possibly representing a strong reinforcing element for HCWs awareness towards infectious disease prevention. Key messages Despite the improvement in vaccination adherence, HCWs flu vaccination coverage still remains a concerning issue to be addressed. Increased flu shot adherence reached during COVID-19 pandemic should be not only a target to be maintained but even improved next year getting closer to herd immunity.

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