How will vaccination be carried out from now on in Catalonia?
Today the administration of AstraZeneca has been resumed with the change of criteria extended to the entire population between 55 and 65 years of age
BarcelonaCatalonia is preparing to vaccinate "the entire population", in the words of Catalan Health minister Alba Vergés, but, at the moment, the availability of the authorised vaccines is very low and it is calculated that it will take a month for the current rhythm to be accelerated, with the arrival of Janssen doses.
What is the planned schedule?
The schedule set by the Spanish Ministry of Health establishes three stages. The first started on December 27, 2020 and covers the groups in care homes and elderly dependents, and is almost finished. Last month the second stage began, which provides immunity for the over-80s, essential professionals and progressively lowered the age requirements as far as 45-year-olds. This phase is not expected to end until late summer, when the vaccination of the rest of the population should begin because it is expected that there will already be a large availability of vaccines.
Who is being vaccinated now?
At the moment, the Catalan Health Department continues with priority vaccination of the over-80s who live at home. Only 30% have received the first dose, one of the lowest figures compared to other autonomous communities, and most of the group has not even received a call from their primary care center to give them an appointment. In these cases, the dose is administered either in outpatient clinics, if the person is autonomous and has sufficient mobility to travel, or in their private home, if they are considered too vulnerable
From today, vaccination with AstraZeneca also restarts, but with the novelty that not only essential professionals up to 55 years of age will receive the jab, but the Health Department is extending the range to the general population between 55 and 65 years of age, regardless of their state of health.
CAPs have already begun to send SMS or make phone calls to this group, and from here you have to go to vacunacovidsalut.cat to arrange a time and place for vaccination.
Who will be the next to be vaccinated?
Everything will depend on how many doses of vaccine there are at any given time and how many injections are administered. The plans of the department are that by mid-May the over-80s are vaccinated and those between 70 and 79 can start receiving the jab. At the same time, the vaccination of those between 55 and 65 years of age should follow. The Health Department maintains the goal of having 30% of the population immunised by the end of July and hopes that by the end of September, at the gates of autumn, it will be 70%, ie, herd immunity.
How many vaccines are available?
Currently the European Medicines Agency has authorised the use of four different vaccines in Europe. The first to be approved was the Pfizer vaccine, which is injected into those over 80 years of age, health professionals and elderly dependents, and it is expected that it will also be administered to those between 70 and 79 years of age
Moderna and AstraZeneca are the two that are being administered to key workers. The first one has no age limit, while for the second one, as of today, the upper age limit has been changed from 55 to 65 and the Interterritorial Health Council may even remove the limit completely, as other countries have. This is the option favoured by the Generalitat, as a way to accelerate vaccination.
The fourth vaccine that has been approved is that of Janssen, which will arrive at the end of April and for which the target group has not yet been defined, beyond that, like the rest, is only tested in over 18 years. Its particularity is that it is the only single dose, so it will make the whole process go much faster.
Where are you getting vaccinated?
The slow arrival of vaccines makes it possible for vaccination to be carried out in CAPs or rooms specifically enabled to avoid blocking the primary centers. But if the supply schedules of pharmaceutical companies are finally met, from the middle of May there will be more available doses, which will increase the pace to 500,000 doses per week. Therefore, the Health Department has already prepared about seventy extra spaces throughout the territory to streamline the circuits and avoid collapses. Among these facilities are those of the Fairs of Barcelona and Cornellà, the Sabadell Indoor Athletics track, the Palau Firal de Girona, the Pavelló Onze de Setembre de Lleida, a space to be specified in Tarragona and, possibly, the Camp Nou.