Vaccination attaining cruising speed is great news
It has taken a long time, but the promise that in the second quarter of the year the arrival of vaccines would multiply in sufficient proportion to achieve the goal of having 70% of the population immunised in summer has finally been fulfilled. This Thursday, the Spanish President, Pedro Sanchez, has appeared to announce the arrival of 13 million vaccines from Pfizer in June, almost twice as many as will arrive in May. This quantity will double the current rate of vaccination and will allow the under-40s to be vaccinated in July.
Despite Sánchez's attempts to curate his public image, always making the positive announcements and avoiding giving explanations about what has not worked, the merit of this success is, on the one hand, down to the European Union, which negotiated with pharmaceutical companies, and on the other, down to autonomous communities, which are responsible for organising the vaccination process. The Spanish government only distributed the vaccines equitably according to population, and this is the end of its role. In the case of Catalonia, it is the Department of Health that has been in charge of organising vaccination arrangements, which so far are working smoothly and efficiently. So much so that the initial fears are fading and now there is even a certain euphoric effect as vaccination progresses, which has already reached the 50-59 age group. At this point we must congratulate all health workers, especially nurses and primary care staff, who are carrying the weight of the operation.
With practically a third of the population vaccinated, mortality has been drastically reduced. In Catalonia, for example, it has gone from 101 deaths registered on January 25 to 14 on May 9, 85% less. This is what allows us to be optimistic and begin to think that the recovery of a certain normality, and above all of economic activity, will now be faster than was thought a few months ago, when AstraZeneca's non-compliance and the information surrounding its side effects generated many doubts about whether the calendar could be met. It is incomprehensible that the millions of young people (teachers, health workers and essential personnel) who received a first dose from AstraZeneca still do not know whether they have to receive the second dose. And this is directly attributable to Carolina Darias's Ministry of Health.
Be that as it may, the European Union is inching closer to the countries that have made faster progress, such as the United Kingdom or the United States, where they have already started vaccinating children. But it is inevitable to think that if we had gone a little faster we could have saved the summer tourist season in much better conditions than we will have. Even so, now is not the time for reproaches but to learn lessons and prepare for the next pandemic, from a health, social and economic point of view, since it will take time for the effects of the current crisis to be overcome.
