The masks were for Asians, the vaccine (for the flu, an adult did not think about another) was given the year you remembered and PCR sounded like a computer component. But on March 11, 2020, when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid-19 a pandemic, everything began to change. And although the same organization decreed the end of the health emergency in May of last year, those three years changed the world forever.
Deaths
Covid-19 continues to cause deaths in Spain, but at a much lower level than in previous years. According to the latest report ‘Deaths according to cause of death’, published in December by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), in the first half of 2023 (latest data available) 3,760 people died from the coronavirus, 82% less than in the same period of the previous year. Extrapolating the figure, covid-19 left between 6,000 and 7,000 deaths in 2023. Compared to previous years, and according to the same report ‘Deaths according to cause of death’ from the INE, in 2020, the first year of the pandemic, the virus caused 60,358 deaths; in 2021, 39,444; and in 2022, 31,606. Since March 2020, some 130,000 people have died from covid-19 in Spain.
Masks
The last reminder that masks will stay forever came in the first fortnight of this year, when the Ministry of Health and the ministries decreed their mandatory use in health centers due to a spike in flu infections. During the peaks of covid-19 or flu infections or in response to the recommendations of the health authorities, a significant part of the population has normalized the use of this protective element, a use that did not exist before March 2020.
PCR and self-diagnosis
Self-diagnosis without a scientific basis has a long tradition in Spain, but that has also changed with the pandemic. Taking a PCR to detect if you were infected with Covid-19 has become a familiar process for millions of Spaniards. Furthermore, PCRs for Covid have opened a door that has extended to other diseases and has shifted the focus to each citizen on their own health. With or without a prescription, there are already self-diagnostic tests for the flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), HIV, female fertility, sperm quality or protein in urine.
Vaccines
The last vaccination campaign against covid-19 took place in the fall of last year, when those over 60 years of age, health workers and people with chronic diseases were called for what was their fifth injection. Depending on age, comorbidities and other factors, and whether all requirements have been met, the general population has been vaccinated against covid between three and five times. According to the Ministry of Health, 87.2% of Spaniards have a dose; 86%, two doses; and 56% have a booster dose (the third). And according to the latest vaccination report, published on January 25, but only with data for people over 60 years of age, less than half of this age group (46%) have received the fourth or fifth dose, already adapted against the latest variants of SARS-CoV-2.
Surveillance system
The pandemic has forced Spain to strengthen control of respiratory viruses. In October 2020, the Ministry of Health launched the Acute Respiratory Infection Surveillance System (SiVIRA), a sentinel surveillance, that is, it collects epidemiological data systematically at a number of points. This surveillance, which is carried out in hospitals and primary care, covers the three main respiratory viruses, SARS-CoV-2, influenza and syncytial. Furthermore, to counteract the weaknesses of the system that Covid-19 brought to light, Health approved the creation of the State Public Health Agency a year and a half ago, which aims to prepare the response to health emergencies, health advice public and health risk communication. The project, however, is progressing more slowly than expected, among other reasons, due to the discussion about where its headquarters will be located. Last week the Congress of Deputies agreed to extend the deadline to present partial amendments to the project.
2024-03-10 23:04:06
#normal #left #covid19
