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VACCINE

First AstraZeneca vaccines to arrive in Spain but won’t be used on over-65s

The first AstraZeneca Covid vaccines will arrive in Spain this weekend but health authorities have decided not to give it to those aged over 65 and maybe even lower to the age threshold to those under 55.

Published: 5 February 2021 13:56 CET
First AstraZeneca vaccines to arrive in Spain but won't be used on over-65s
Photo: AFP

Instead the 1.8 million doses of AstraZeneca’s recently approved COVID-19 vaccine that are set to arrive in Spain this February will be administered to healthcare workers, Spain’sgovernment has said.

Spain’s National Healthcare Committee which is made up of health experts from the central government and regional authorities announced their decision on Friday.

The decision echoes those made in France, Sweden, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland over concerns about a lack of data on the effectiveness of the vaccine for over 65s.

It means that Spain will have to readjust its original vaccine schedule which prioritized residents in care homes and those who cared for them before moving onto frontline healthcare workers and others who relied on care facilities.

The next group would have been the over-80s but as they won’t be receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine, it will be given instead to those healthcare personnel who fall outside the “frontline” category.

The next in line will then be those identified from other vulnerable groups who are below the age of 65 (or 55 if the threshold is indeed lowered).

But Fernando Simón, director of the Center for the Coordination of Health Alerts and Emergencies, assured the public that the decision wouldn’t derail the vaccination progamme.

“I believe that it is not necessary to readjust the calendars much,” he told a press conference on Thursday.

“What may happen is that two of the groups are vaccinated simultaneously and if the deliveries continue as scheduled, we should be able to meet our objectives,” he said.

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Member comments

  1. What idiots. Playing with the lives of citizens just to toe the line with Germany. The uk vaccine is perfectly effective for all. Politics should play no part. Sadly never going to be the case in Europe. Get over it. The uk vaccine works – and elderly people should not suffer because of point scoring

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COVID-19

Public Health Agency recommends two Covid doses next year for elderly

Sweden's Public Health Agency is recommending that those above the age of 80 should receive two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine a year, once in the spring and once in the autumn, as it shifts towards a longer-term strategy for the virus.

Published: 23 December 2022 10:53 CET
Public Health Agency recommends two Covid doses next year for elderly

In a new recommendation, the agency said that those living in elderly care centres, and those above the age of 80 should from March 1st receive two vaccinations a year, with a six month gap between doses. 

“Elderly people develop a somewhat worse immune defence after vaccination and immunity wanes faster than among young and healthy people,” the agency said. “That means that elderly people have a greater need of booster doses than younger ones. The Swedish Public Health Agency considers, based on the current knowledge, that it will be important even going into the future to have booster doses for the elderly and people in risk groups.” 

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People between the ages of 65 and 79 years old and young people with risk factors, such as obesity, diabetes, poor kidney function or high blood pressure, are recommended to take one additional dose per year.

The new vaccination recommendation, which will start to apply from March 1st next year, is only for 2023, Johanna Rubin, the investigator in the agency’s vaccination programme unit, explained. 

She said too much was still unclear about how long protection from vaccination lasted to institute a permanent programme.

“This recommendation applies to 2023. There is not really an abundance of data on how long protection lasts after a booster dose, of course, but this is what we can say for now,” she told the TT newswire. 

It was likely, however, that elderly people would end up being given an annual dose to protect them from any new variants, as has long been the case with influenza.

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