Internationally recognized as one of the leading experts in inflammaging, María Mittelbrunn (Madrid, 1977) is a principal investigator at the Immunometabolism and Inflammation Laboratory at the Severo Ochoa Center for Molecular Biology (CISC-UAM), located in Madrid. For decades, she has been studying the immune system to determine its role in aging and find the elixir that will delay this process and all the diseases associated with it. Her research has shown that immune cells, specifically T lymphocytes, are the philosopher's stone of the body's resilience to the passage of time.

The WHO this week called for no third dose - or booster or reminder dose - until at least 10 per cent of the world's population is vaccinated. Even so, countries such as Israel have already started injecting it into immunocompromised patients and people over 60, and France and Germany announced Thursday that they will also give it to the elderly and the most vulnerable. Spain is also considering this option: the Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, said that "everything indicates that the third dose will have to be administered" - although she did not specify whether to certain groups or to the general population - and the Secretary of Public Health of the Generalitat, Carmen Cabezas, said that they are studying giving a third injection to immunocompromised patients, such as transplant recipients or people undergoing cancer treatment, for example. But is a third dose really necessary to have immunity against covid?

The General Court of the European Union has withdrawn former president Carles Puigdemont's and JxCat MEPs Toni Comín and Clara Ponsatí's parliamentary immunity this Friday. The court has revoked the provisional decision it adopted last June 2 to temporarily grant them parliamentary immunity until it ruled on an appeal filed by the three MEPs. The appeal sought to overturn the European Parliament's decision to accept a request from the Spanish Supreme Court for their parliamentary immunity to be suspended.

This Thursday, Junts MEPs Carles Puigdemont, Toni Comín and Clara Ponsatí have celebrated the General Court of the European Union's (GCEU) decision to restore provisionally their parliamentary immunity while awaiting a ruling on the appeal the three filed against the European Parliament for having agreed to lift their immunity at the Spanish Supreme Court's behest. "We have climbed a step," said the former Catalan president, who explained that it is a "very important" step because it has "no precedent". The three MEPs from Junts consider that defending their rights as MEPs does not go against the European Parliament, but on the contrary, it "strengthens" it, and therefore they hope that it will not oppose the ruling.

Carles Puigdemont, Toni Comín and Clara Ponsatí have provisionally regained immunity as Members of the European Parliament. The General Court of the European Union (GCEU) has put the European Parliament's decision to withdraw their immunity as MEPs on hold after their appeal. The European court does not rule on whether or not the pro-independence MEPs are right or wrong, but takes this measure preventively, while it waits for the European Parliament to present its case. This should happen within the next two weeks. That is to say, the court adopts precautionary measures before resolving on further precautionary measures.

Deaths from coronavirus in Catalonia have fallen by 89% in five months, according to data from the Department of Health: while in January 2,159 people died with covid, in May it was 231 (with consolidated data up to the 27th). Vaccination has played a key role in achieving this drop, according to the head of epidemiology at Vall d'Hebron Hospital, Magda Campins, and Biocom researcher Clara Prats. "The over-70s were the group with most deaths; now, thanks to vaccination, almost none of them is admitted to hospital because if they catch covid, most of them are asymptomatic," says the doctor. And she adds: "The weather or restrictions affect all age groups in the same way, but the groups where there is a clearer decline is among the vaccinated."

At last holidays and at last further vaccinations. In spite of all the bad things, it seems that this Easter Week is giving us a little breathing space and even a slight dose of optimism, which we are very much in need of. A considerable part of the population has been able to leave home and enjoy a change of scenery, something that many will be grateful for after a long time without being able to leave the municipality, first, and the region, later. And, at the same time, the vaccination process is speeding up -this weekend and on Bank Holiday Monday there will be vaccinations-, which opens the door to think that maybe we will achieve the goal of reaching summer in conditions of a minimum normality. But let's not rush.

It is back to the courts for Carles Puigdemont, Toni Comín and Clara Ponsatí after their parliamentary immunity was withdrawn this morning. The result of the European Parliament plenary vote on Monday is the definitive confirmation which comes as no surprise. By 400 votes in favour, 248 against and 45 abstentions, in the case of Puigdemont, and by 404 votes in favour, 247 against and 42 abstentions in the case of Comín and Ponsatí, the European Parliament has decided to grant the suspension of immunity requested by the Spanish Supreme Court so that the judicial process can continue in Belgium and Scotland for their extraditions

Antivirals, anti-inflammatories and anticoagulants. And oxygen administered in a variety of ways. And, of course, medical and nursing staff, as well as cleaning and other professionals. The formula is the same today as it was in March 2020, when the first wave of the pandemic began. However, there have been substantial changes that have drastically reduced mortality in ICUs and that make specialists look at the future with moderate optimism until the vaccine takes effect. The main one is the greater knowledge of the disease and its complications. The second is the improvement of care circuits. And the third, but no less important, is the availability of the necessary medical equipment.