When the campaign for the fourth dose for their age group began, Eulalia Pérez, 65, and José Alfonsín, 69, had just suffered from COVID, and they could not put it on. This Friday they went to be injected at the vaccination point of the Álvaro Cunqueiro Hospital, through which those interested in immunizing themselves against SARS-CoV-2 arrive by drop. Only an average of 50 people pass by a day. The Vigo Health Area came to put up to 12,000 punctures in a single day. But the fear of this new disease has passed and, except among the elderly and risk groups – where coverage exceeds 80% -, the young population does not see the need for the second booster: less than 8% of those who have the rest of the doses requested the last one.
The campaign for the second booster dose began in September last year with risk and older groups and, for more than four months, sIt was opened to everyone who wanted, either by self-appointment or by showing up at the vaccination point spontaneously. The Galician Health Service (Sergas) continues to call children who are 5 years old; to those who do not have vaccinations when they reach 12; minors who, for whatever reason, had not yet been summoned to complete the guideline; to those who reach the age of majority to offer the first reinforcement; to those who premiered the 60s; and those at high risk. Of the latter, estimated at about 350 in the area, “very few” remain without the fourth dose, as explained by the area’s director of Nursing, Pilar Reza. Mainly new income in this group come and, for that, most already had it.
Reza explains that, In the last month, attendance at vaccination has been reduced “very much”. In fact, between March 16 and April 13, the increase in vaccination coverage of the population is not even 20 hundredths: from 82% to 82.17% in those over 60 who already had the previous three , and from 7.43% to 7.58% in those under that age who had attended all the previous calls. The person in charge of vaccination in the Vigo area highlights that “30% of those who call and make an appointment fail”, something that had not happened to them before. The interest is so little that, in the last month, of those who turned 5 only 43 appeared in the last month and of those who reached the age of majority, 18. Even of those who bother to search for the self-appointment system and fix one, half do not come.
“30% of those who make an appointment by phone and 50% of those who use the self-appointment do not go to prick themselves”
Pilar Reza. Nursing Director of the Health Area of Vigo
Hence it has been taken decision to reduce the opening time of the vaccination point against COVID existing in the Beade complex. Starting next week, it will be available to everyone who wants it on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday mornings and Tuesday afternoons. They will also continue to click in health centers – “very little” is demanded – and they will continue to go to residences for workers or new users – they go every three weeks and there are plenty of fingers on one hand to count the doses used.
The data
As of April 13, Only 151,790 people from the 26 municipalities in the Vigo health area have the fourth dose. In other words, just over a quarter –26.6%, specifically–. Interest increases with age. Among those under 20 years of age there are only 132 injected doses, which correspond to high-risk people. 3% of the twenty-somethings -1,568-, 4.2% of the thirty-somethings -2,824-, 8% of the forty-year-olds -8,042-, and 14% of the fiftie-year-olds have the second reinforcement. At this point there is a significant jump in the percentages, coinciding with the groups that were cited by Sergas. 73% of the sixty-year-olds who already had the third reinforcement responded -69% if all those residing in the area are taken into account-, 83% of the septuagenarians in the same situation -81% of the total-, 85% of those between the ages of 80 and 85 who had attended the first three calls –80% of all those registered– and 87.50% of those over 85 –84% of the census–.
In those over 60, the second reinforcement against COVID has penetrated more than that of the flu: 22,169 more have been encouragedcompared to 104,965 with influenza.
Why no longer interested?
“We are seeing that, now, the vast majority of the processes are light and the feeling that people have is that this has already happened and now we can forget about it”, says the head of Microbiology at Chuvi, Dr. Francisco José Vasallo. He does not consider that we should forget it, but he does distinguish between the normal population and those who are at greater risk of developing a serious infection with contagion, which are the elderly and the immunocompromised or people with risk circumstances. “In them, immunity lasts less time, both from having suffered the disease and from vaccination. If they have not put on the fourth, they must do it ”, he underlines.
“In the elderly and risk groups, immunity lasts less time. If they have not put on the fourth, they should do so”
Francisco Jose Vasallo. Head of the Microbiology Service
For the rest, he explains that the campaign is not being “as insistent as the previous ones” because “there is some major discrepancy in the specialists.” “Although I believe that it is still recommended, there were times when the people who knew the most, preventatives and immunologists, questioned the need for such a large dose in the normal population, because It is not very well known if it can somehow overload and lethargy the immune system ”, indica.
Currently in his laboratory they are detecting between 5 and 10 positives a day. Few more than in flu –3 0 4–. “It is at very low levels.” He predicts that if there was an increase in the incidence, people would get vaccinated again. And is there going to be a new peak? “Answering that is like playing tarot cards,” she replies.
