Health Department starts giving vaccine appointments for 56-59-year-olds

BarcelonaCatalonia expands the groups that can receive the vaccine against covid with the inclusion of the population between 50 and 59. The Health Department has begun the campaign gradually, starting with the older people within this age range. ARA has known some people between 56 and 59 -born between 1962 and 1965- can enter the website set up by the Health Department to get an appointment to be vaccinated in one of 50 spots across Catalonia. At the same time, primary health centres will send text messages (SMS) to those born between 1962 and 1971 to book a time, day and place to get the jab.

The authorities will offer appointments as doses arrive in order to vaccinate progressively people who are more likely to get sick, require hospitalization and end up dying due to the virus: the over-50s. With these immunizations, in fact, health authorities hope to reduce risks and free up hospital beds.

When does the vaccination of the population aged 50-59 start?

The Department of Health will begin to contact and immunise this population group, in general, next Monday, May 10, although some primary care centers (CAP) have already begun to call people aged 58 and 59 when, for whatever reason, an appointment was going to be missed. In addition, new slots are becoming available on the website. At the moment, 4.7% of this group has received a first vaccination and 2.4% have completed the vaccination schedule. All of them are people with serious pathologies, such as cancer, autoimmune diseases or patients undergoing dialysis treatments.

How can I get an appointment for vaccination?

Each CAP will be responsible for notifying people aged 50 to 59 years, in descending order, to make an appointment to receive the vaccine, but anyone of this age can schedule their immunisation on the website enabled by the Health Department in one of the several vaccination points installed throughout the territory. The appointments, at first, will be limited because they continue to prioritise the over-70s.

Everyone with an individual health card can be vaccinated. If all the slots have been taken, we recommend checking the website periodically for new slots.

What vaccine will they receive?

People aged 50-59 can receive any of the vaccines except AstraZeneca's, which in Spain is restricted to the age range from 60 to 69. Pfizer is emerging as the vaccine to be administered to large parts of this population, although so far seriously ill people of this age have received the Moderna vaccine in hospitals. The Catalan Health Department also wants them to be injected with the Janssen vaccine, which is single-dose and is indicated for the entire population, but so far the Spanish Ministry of Health recommends that it only be administered to people aged 70 to 79 years.

How is vaccination progressing by age groups?

85.3% of the population over 80 years old and 82.2% of people with high dependency have already completed their vaccination schedule and the Health Department expects to administer the last second doses before the end of the state of alarm, on May 9. As for other age groups, mass inoculation of the first dose has been prioritised and now comes the turn of second doses. For example, of the group of people aged 70-79, 72.4% have already received a first dose and 23.9% have completed the schedule. 62.1% of people aged 66 to 69 have been vaccinated - 4.4% are fully immunised - as well as 62.8% of people aged 60 to 65.

The Government hopes that the massive arrival of vaccines last week - 272,610 from Pfizer, 258,600 from AstraZeneca and 34,400 from Moderna - will continue from now on and even increase. If the pharmaceutical companies comply, the Secretary of Public Health, Josep Maria Argimon, hopes to have at least all the over-45s vaccinated with a first dose by mid-July. According to the Health Department, the vaccination campaign continues to make progress at a good pace: 99% of the vaccines received since 27 December have been administered, a total of 2,799,330 doses, and a quarter of Catalans (25.5%) have already been vaccinated with a first dose.