86.6% of Catalans already have some kind of immunity against covid

Barcelona86.6% of Catalans have been in contact with covid, either because they have been infected at some point or because they have been vaccinated, as reported on Wednesday by the Secretary of Public Health, Carmen Cabezas. This means that four out of five people in Catalonia, about 6.7 million inhabitants, have some kind of immunity against the coronavirus. Seventy-seven percent of the population has been vaccinated (43% have already received the third dose) but, in addition, in the sixth wave alone there have been more than two million infections, a transmission so high that the figures for natural immunity have skyrocketed.

An important part of the cases detected (7%) since December, however, are reinfections, which have increased compared to other waves for three reasons. Firstly, because the virus has been circulating for two years and some people have been losing the protection they had acquired. In addition, the Omicron variant is more transmissible and contagious and has a greater capacity to infect someone who has overcome a previous infection caused by previous variants. And finally, because the mutation partially escapes the two-dose vaccination schedule.

Now, however, Salud states that the sixth wave is going down "quickly and clearly" and that all indicators show that it is "on the right track". "But we still have very high incidence," he said. Today there are 2,263 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. And precisely because the epidemiological situation has improved in all age groups, also in the youngest, Cabezas announced that from next Monday they will stop testing schoolchildren for antigens when there is a positive result in the classroom. Screening will only be maintained among teachers and in special needs schools.

In addition, the Department has confirmed a third case of the stealth variant, a subvariant of Omicron, in Catalonia. "But the appearance is very sporadic," said Cabezas. This mutation would make the virus more contagious and more difficult to detect, but, on the other hand, just as mild as the original omicron.