Almost half million people have already received the booster dose against Covid-19 in our country.
Approved on October 5, the campaign of the dose extra has started in a stealthy way while reaching an optimal level of vaccination in Spain: 37 million people have already received the complete guideline.
So, the time has come to boost immunity against Covid-19 to people who need it most, also coinciding with the beginning of autumn and the seasonal viruses such as the flu or the cold, which could boost a sixth wave when viral conditions combine.
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For this reason, the Ministry of Health recommends continuing to use the masks as before and it has been promoted to coincide, as far as possible, with the third dose of the Covid-19 and flu vaccine, to avoid that both viruses potentiate an increase in cases and hospitalizations, as well as deaths, during this fall and winter.
Who will get the booster dose?
From the Ministry of Health it has been explained, in the document of the vaccination strategy against Covid-19, all the details about how to develop vaccination for the next few months.
So it remains, remembering that strategy undergoes ongoing evidence -this is the rectification through how the known data advances-, people with priority for the third dose:
– General population. A booster dose of mRNA vaccines will be given to people of 70 and over years of age. This booster dose will be administered 6 months after completing the vaccination schedule, that is, the second dose. Therefore, most of those over the age of 70 they will not take long to receive the appointment.
– Very high risk people. People with high-risk conditions such as transplant recipients, people undergoing renal replacement therapy (hemodialysis and dialysis peritoneal), immunodeficiencies primary diseases, cystic fibrosis or Down syndrome, among other medical conditions or pathologies.
– Inmates in residential centers for the elderly.
– People under 65 years of age. The preference is to administer the third dose to those people who, both because of their pathologies and because of their age, are people at risk. Therefore, under age 70 the booster dose is not necessarily helpful, but everything will depend on the continuous evidence and on how from Health the data of effectiveness of the third dose are interpreted.
– Vaccinated with Janssen. Those who received the Janssen single-dose, who are almost two million people, they will have to receive a booster dose of Pfizer or Moderna.
What vaccine will be administered?
For the booster dose messenger RNA vaccine will be used, preferably the same as previously administered, from 6 months after having administered the second dose.
If anyone has been vaccinated with Janssen o AstraZeneca (adenovirus and not mRNA vaccines), will be given as a booster dose a messenger RNA vaccine such as Pfizer or Modern.
Regarding side effects, third-dose studies with transplant patients have shown that adverse reactions were mild, similar to previous doses.
Refering to joint flu and Covid-19 vaccination, it is perfectly possible and safe. The mRNA vaccines (the preferred ones for the third dose) against Covid-19 can be co-administered with any vaccine, in different anatomical locations, including vaccines against influenza and pneumococcus.
When to vaccinate with the third dose each CC AA
All autonomous communities have started the third dose vaccination Covid-19, sometimes combining it with the flu.
Some have decided to vaccinate immunosuppressed people or those with transplants first organs, as well as giving priority to seniors living in residences, although not all have started this campaign on the same dates.
So even though all have started this vaccination, the general dates do not always correspond to the first vaccinated.
In this interactive map you can check the dates of each autonomous community and what type of patients were cited according to the dates:
How the booster dose progresses
Catalonia and Castilla-La Mancha are at the forefront of the administration of this dose, with 64,881 and 62,850 vaccines respectively.
Behind are Andalusia and Murcia with 48,182 and 47,303 dose respectively.
Madrid has only managed 3,025 doses reinforcement. On the other hand, in the queue are Ceuta and melilla, with 420 and 202 doses, although they have less population than the other communities.
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