With vaccination underway in Catalonia of all age groups above the age of 50, and with the forecast that vaccination for the 40-to-50s will begin in mid-June, the next step will be the vaccination of those under 40. And that will begin in July, as confirmed this morning by the head of the Covid-19 vaccination programme in Catalonia, Carmen Cabezas.
Speaking to radio station RAC1, Cabezas said that the timetable could even be brought forward, especially with regard to the 40-50 age group, which would also allow the vaccination of those under 40 to begin sooner. In fact, the vaccination campaign is progressing at a very good rate this month of May, and as of Wednesday, people aged from 50 to 55 can now make appointments to receive their first jab.
Although the details are still to be specified, it is envisaged that the start of vaccination to those under 40 will include the entire younger adult population from 16 up to 40, without subdividing this group into smaller divisions by age.
More than 3 million vaccines given
So far, more than 3 million vaccine shots have been administered in Catalonia, with 2.3 million Catalans having already received a first dose, and 1 million having been given both. All this has led to a significant change in the epidemiological situation, with indicators already falling. On Tuesday, the public health secretary, Josep Maria Argimon, stated that a situation of "decline" had been reached, after noting that during the week there had been 2,800 fewer cases.
Argimon also detailed that he expect that rapid progress will be made in the vaccination of the 50-to-59 age range. He observed that the majority of Covid hospital admissions - specifically, 75% - occur in age groups over 50 years. "We will have this whole segment of the population finished by the end of this month, although we will have to wait a couple of weeks after that for the last ones to be vaccinated to generate antibodies."
In addition, the Spanish ministry of health and the autonomous communities have agreed that the 50-to-59 age group will be able to be inoculated with the Janssen vaccine, the only single dose available, which had already begun to be used in the 70 to 79 year group and later in those over 60, following the controversy over cases of thrombosis linked to inactivated adenovirus vaccines. The fact that this vaccine only requires a single dose will speed up the vaccination campaign and allow attention to younger age groups to begin quickly.
Main image: A man receives the vaccine at the Fira de Barcelona mass vaccination point / Efe