After the first coronavirus vaccinations in Catalonia on Sunday, further details of the Covid-19 vaccine process have been given today, although there have been cautionary messages as well. Monday saw the first logistical delays due to distribution problems in a shipment from Belgium. And also, the head of CatSalut's vaccination programme in Catalonia, Carmen Cabezas, warned of concerning reports of hoax calls being made by people claiming to be vaccination programme staff.
It was in response to the need to dismiss these bogus messages that she gave new details of the vaccine roll-out: "During the month of January, we will cover the care homes for the elderly and in February the convalescence homes (centres sociosanitaris)." "And then, around the Easter period, we will begin with people who have a high level of disability (Level 3) and are not institutionalised. Those vaccinations will be carried out in their own homes," she said in statements to radio station RAC1.
People with major disabilities, who are not institutionalised, are classified as one of the four top-priority groups in the vaccionation plan agreed by all of the Spain's autonomous communities. Along with the other three priority groups - the residents and staff of care homes, and health care personnel in general - they will be the focus of the first phase of the programme from January till March.
Vulnerable people targeted by bogus calls
Cabezas also gave further details on the order of vaccination, including details affecting the general population aged over 64 years of age: "Older people who do not live in residences will start getting vaccinated in early April; they will be the priority of the second phase." And in relation to that she mentioned some "very harsh" hoaxes which had been reported.
This warning went hand in hand with that given by Catalan interior minister Miquel Sàmper this weekend, admitting that they had already received an alert about a coronavirus vaccine scam in Barcelona. In some parts of Spain, several elderly people have alerted authorities that they have received calls from supposed health professionals to advise them that they were to be vaccinated at home. This is thought to be a strategy to break into homes of vulnerable people living alone.
Priority, the residences
The vaccination programme, at the moment, is focused on the care residences for senior citizens. The Catalan health ministry plans to vaccinate "the maximum number of residences" in Catalonia over the next two weeks, said Cabezas on Catalunya Ràdio. She added that she expected the logistical delay in the arrival of the 60,000 vaccines to be delivered by Pfizer will not affect the Covid-19 vaccination plans in Catalonia, which already provide for jabs to be given between Tuesday and Saturday with Monday reserved as a day to "finish setting agendas and make sure vaccines arrive." “Once it gets here, we have the distribution completely controlled,” she stated.
Catalonia's deputy director general of health promotion, Carmen Cabezas / Photo: ACN
According to the health promotion official, even in cases of residences with Covid-19 outbreaks, the vaccine can be considered as "a strategy to try to stop" the contagion, but it will have to be done "with maximum guarantees of security". Cabezas indicated that group immunity can be achieved if 80% are vaccinated, a figure that is not expected until the end of the year. "Catalonia will do everything possible to achieve group immunity as soon as possible, but we need to be realistic," she said. She noted, however, that the process is "moving in the right direction" and that vaccines "completely change the situation."