Madrid And The Canary Islands Request To Administer Janssen Vaccine To Under 60-Year-Olds

Madrid, Galicia and the Canary Islands Request To Administer Janssen Vaccine To Under 60-Year-Olds.

SPAIN’S vaccination campaign against the coronavirus has lost its pace just as it is close to completing the immunisation of those over 80 years of age.

Half of the septuagenarians and 40 per cent of those in their 60s have now received their first doses, all those over 60 will be immunised between the end of May and the beginning of June if enough drugs arrive in the country to fulfil its requirements.

Spain now has to decide what happens with younger people with vaccines such as Janssen’s, which, as a single dose, can speed up the pace between now and summer. However, according to the original Spanish government’s vaccine plan, it was not going to be used for those under 60 years of age.

Some autonomous regions such as Madrid, Galicia and the Canary Islands have now requested to change the vaccination plan to include that age group while others have doubts because of the very rare cases of thrombosis-blood clots associated with the Janssen drug.

Spain’s Ministry of Health distributed the first 148,000 doses of Janssen to the communities on Wednesday, April 21, although the important increase in deliveries will come in May and June when a subsidiary of the giant Johnson & Johnson group will deliver more than five million vaccines to Spain.

According to the current immunisation strategy, the drug is intended for use in the 70 to 79-year-old group, although the Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, has affirmed after the Interterritorial Council that this drug will be “prioritised but not limited” to that range.

The Community of Madrid reported 1,965 positives of coronavirus on Thursday, April 22, which almost 310 less than Wednesday – it also added another 22 deaths due to the infection, three more than Wednesday.

The city of Vigo in Galicía will spend the coming weekend at the medium level of restrictions due to an increase in the transmission of the coronavirus that leaves the incidents at seven and 14 days at values ​​close to 150 cases per 100,000 in 14 days and 80 cases per 100,000 inhabitants at seven days, indicating a worrying and growing trend.

Cases continue to grow in Tenerife, as it is once again the island with the newest infections registering 147 (67 per cent) of the total against 56 in Gran Canaria, who are stabilising the spread of the virus. Lanzarote registered 11 new cases on Thursday, April 22, El Hierro four, La Palma two, and Fuerteventura just one. There are only 49 active cases now in Fuerteventura as a downward trend of the contagion continues.

Source: El Pais