AstraZeneca vaccine would avoid hundreds of ICU admissions among over-55s

BarcelonaPeople between the ages of 56 and 78 are most at risk of being admitted to intensive care units (ICU) if they become infected with coronavirus. During the third wave, which began in January, 1,233 people between 55 and 74 years have passed through the critical care area of a hospital, although the range that goes from 25 to 54 years is the one that concentrates most infections. The age, together with previous pathologies, is a decisive factor to become seriously ill of covid and the secretary of Public Health, Josep Maria Argimon, has defended that with the AstraZeneca vaccination of the people who are over 55, 393 hospitalizations could have been avoided in the last three months. For example, a person who is 35 years old and has covid has a probability of being admitted to the ICU of 0.2%, while if they are between 55 and 64, the risk grows to 3.4%.

Given these data, the doctor has again urged the State "to rethink" the criteria to prioritize the most vulnerable group and also immunize the elderly "as most European countries have done". "We are talking about preventing deaths and it makes no sense to limit a vaccine that is highly effective, precisely in the age groups that end up being admitted the most", he denounced.

Spain is reluctant to remove the cap set by the Ministry of Health that prevents administering the Oxford vaccine to people over 55, but Argimon has remarked that he is "convinced" that the Spanish government will soon reach "consensus" with the autonomous communities to extend the administration to all seniors, as approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA, in English). "It is not about disobeying [the State]. We are asking for scientific evidence to maintain a cap that no one maintains today", Argimon insisted, although he has ruled out "a DUI with vaccines", as insinuated by the Catalan collegiate doctors.

At this point there are 1,585 patients hospitalized due to covid and 502 seriously ill in the ICU, a figure that has increased slightly on Tuesday with five admissions in the last 24 hours. "Half a thousand occupied critical beds is a huge pressure, it must go down to the minimum possible. We have to understand that we are in the final stretch of this crisis, we can not play around", the director of the Catalan Health Service (CatSalut), Adrià Comella, said.

Vaccination is one of the key points to reduce the pressure of care, but it is still in its initial stages: 789,980 doses of the three available vaccines against covid have been administered - 581,079 first doses and 208,901 second doses -, 87% of the total number of vaccines received. Specifically, at least 7.52% of the population has received the first dose and 2.7%, mainly elderly and health professionals, have completed their schedule with the two doses.

62% of elderly dependents vaccinated

However, and given the delays and failures in the supply of vaccines in Europe, the Secretary of Public Health, Josep Maria Argimon, has raised the need for Europe to decide whether to space all second doses of vaccines 12 weeks after the first to "maximize the effectiveness and reduce severe disease by up to 85%" or "have less vaccinated population but very well protected individually".

The Secretary of Public Health considers that the best strategy would be to "combine" the two strategies, so that the most at-risk groups (the elderly and those over 56) receive the two doses and delay the second dose to lower risk groups. "It is necessary to raise at a European level a delay in the second dose to groups that are not at risk to expand the vaccination coverage of the population because we still do not have enough vaccines", he regretted. According to Argimon, it is necessary to assess whether the British strategy, which is based on delaying the second dose to protect more people, should be applied. However, he warned that this should not become a political debate, but a scientific one, and that the decision should be taken "beyond Catalonia and Spain". That is, in the European Commission.

Catalonia will receive 171,240 vaccines this week: the 84,240 that arrived on Monday from Pfizer and 87,000 from Oxford/AstraZeneca that the Health Department expects to receive this Thursday. In addition, the deputy director general of Health Promotion, Carmen Cabezas, is confident that the Janssen vaccine, which the European Union would have to approve this March 11, can be administered without age limit. "We have been told that they will surely arrive from April 15, but we do not know the number of doses yet", Cabezas said.

The doctor stressed that the Health Department has been vaccinating people over 80 years of age and dependents for three weeks now, and that more than 100,000 elderly people have already been protected. Part of the vaccines arriving next week, the 84,000 that Pfizer is sending, will have to be used for this protection, ensuring the second doses and continuing to vaccinate older people. According to Minister Carolina Darias, 1.2 million a week will arrive. "We have seen it on Twitter, but we have no official confirmation", said the Secretary of Public Health, who has asked for concreteness. "We need figures of doses and specific dates", she demanded.