AstraZeneca's vaccine limitation "greatly complicates" Catalan plan

BarcelonaThe decision of the Ministry of Health of limiting the AstraZeneca vaccine to the population between 18 and 55 years "complicates" the plan of the Generalitat. According to the secretary of Public Health, Josep Maria Argimon, "good part" of the workers to whom they wanted to inject this vaccine - essential and sanitary services that are not in contact with patients of covid - exercise until they are 65 years old, which affects the forecast that had been made. Argimon has insisted that Catalonia was committed to use this vaccine with those who are up to 65 years, although in clinical trials the University of Oxford and the pharmaceutical AstraZeneca had only involved people under 55 years, because it is a range with "high risk". Nevertheless, he assured that "the best thing for everyone is to respect this".

As for the British variant, the Minister of Health, Alba Vergés, has explained that 17% of the analyzed contagions of coronavirus already correspond to this variant. "Little by little we see how it is increasing", she warned. In fact, Argimon recalled that the forecast is that the third week of March, in a month and a half, this variant is the dominant virus in Catalonia. That is why the doctor has asked for "caution" with the latest data from covid, which confirm an easing of pressure on hospitals: there are now 2,517 patients admitted and 702 in the ICU.

Vaccination at universities

Vergés has advanced that in the third phase of the vaccination of the coronavirus one of the spaces that they want to use are the university campuses. The Minister spoke on Friday with several rectors who showed their willingness to provide university spaces to vaccinate the general population. Health maintains that it will have the capacity to vaccinate 150,000 people a day if sufficient doses are received, but it is not yet known when this will be. At the moment the first 31,000 doses of AstraZeneca that will be received next week will be for essential workers - which correspond to the second phase of vaccination - while the first phase continues to run with doses of Pfizer and Moderna, which has not yet been completed.

Argimon and Vergés have made this assessment after a visit to the Catalan laboratories Reig Jofre, which will participate in the production of the covid-19 vaccine of the pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson.