87% of key workers under 60 choose AstraZeneca and not Pfizer for second dose
Only in ten follow Ministry of Health recommendation to have Pfizer jab
BarcelonaThe health department reports that 87% of the 4,603 key workers who received their second coronavirus jab this Thursday opted to complete the schedule with AstraZeneca. In total, 4,006 people chose the Anglo-Swedish drug despite recommendations by the Interterritorial Council to use the Pfizer vaccine. Nevertheless, individuals are allowed to opt for a second dose of AstraZeneca after submitting a signed informed consent that can be downloaded from the website of the Department of Health or take a printed version to the place where they will be vaccinated.
On Thursday, the Ministry of Health warned autonomous communities that are expressly recommending AstraZeneca for this group, or asking for informed consent both for those who want to receive Pfizer and those who prefer AstraZeneca. The communities warned are Andalusia, Galicia and Madrid. Catalonia, for now, has followed the Health guidelines from start to finish, despite being in favour of using AstraZeneca for the second doses during the discussion with the Ministry.
The Ministry of Health decided last week that the best option for the population under 60 years who had received a first dose of the AstraZeneca dose was to receive a second dose of the Pfizer vaccine, but many regional governments disapproved, demanding that it be allowed for people to choose to receive a second dose of AstraZeneca. Finally, the Minister Carolina Darias opted to leave it in the hands of the bioethics committee, which backed administering an AstraZeneca vaccine to those who refuse to combine both vaccines.
Vaccination progresses
The pace of vaccination continues to advance in Catalonia. According to data updated this Friday by the Department of Health, there are already 2,819,674 Catalans (36% of the population) who have received one vaccine and 1,341,880 the full schedule (17.1%). Epidemiological indicators also improve: down to 600 daily infections and effective potential growth has fallen to 108 points and is about to fall below the threshold of high risk of resurgence. As for the pressure in hospitals, there are 4 fewer people in hospital, in total 776, of which 270 are in the ICU (one fewer than in the previous update).
