Press Release No. 68/2021

ISS, December 14th 2021 - 

With regards to unfounded news reported by some newspapers on the appointment of Mr. Vitangelo Dattoli to the Board of Directors of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità – ISS (Italian National Institute of Health) by President Brusaferro, the following clarifications are in order: 
President Brusaferro has no decision-making or advisory power to appoint members of the Board of Directors.
The Statute establishes that the ISS Board of Directors is appointed by the Minister of Health through an administrative provision upon the designation of various entities (namely, one by the Ministry of Health, one by the Ministry of Education, and two by the Unified Conference). The President takes note of the appointment and enables the procedures that ensure the body's normal operation.
In this specific case, the Unified Conference, a body of the State-Regions Autonomous Provinces Conference, made the appointment which was formalized by ministerial decree. The President informed the interested party and the other members of the Board of Directors about the appointment, and launched and secured the day-to-day activities of the Board of Directors, regularly attended by Mr. Dattoli.