Medicine / Health, Illness | Vaccine champion Spain escapes Europe’s fourth corona wave

Spain was among the countries that were hit hardest and hardest at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, but now has some of the lowest infection rates in Europe.

Only 63 cases per 100,000 inhabitants have been registered during the last two weeks.

In comparison, this number is over 340 in Norway. There is thus more than five times higher infection pressure in Norway than in Spain.

Compared with Spain, the infection pressure is twice as high in Italy, six times higher in Germany and Poland, and as much as 12 times higher in the UK, the news agency AFP estimates.

Stolt Sánchez

About 79 percent of Spain’s entire population is fully vaccinated, compared to 67 percent in the United Kingdom and Germany. In Norway, around 70 per cent have been fully vaccinated.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez notes that the development of the country’s pandemic is positive.

– We have plenty of reasons to feel proud of what we have achieved, he said on Wednesday.

Vaccinated the elderly

France and Italy have a high vaccination rate overall – but Spain has a higher percentage of elderly and vulnerable people who have received the vaccine. Over 99 percent of those over 70 are fully vaccinated in Spain.

Mild weather, bandages indoors in public places and little vaccine skepticism probably helped as well. And it was a good idea to start vaccinating with the elderly, says Inaki Comas, a researcher at the Department of Biomedicine in Valencia.

Children from the age of 12 and up have also been offered the vaccine since this summer, and thus large parts of the population are covered.

But as winter approaches, and it’s been a while since people got the vaccine, one can soon see other numbers, experts say.

Still exposed

They warn that colder weather, less protection effect from the vaccines over time, as well as the risk of new mutations make them prone to increased infection.

– These three factors are a very good breeding ground for the coronavirus, says Comas. He believes that Spain is now entering a very critical period.

Nightlife runs as normal and there are no restrictions on how many people can be in social gatherings. But the mild weather means that more people gather outdoors.

Cesar Carballo is a doctor in the emergency department of Ramon y Cajal Hospital in Madrid. He believes that infection rates will start to rise in the country when it gets colder and people move their social activities indoors.

– We know how the virus is transmitted, and when the cold comes and the evenings get darker, we will move indoors. This is where the virus spreads, says Carballo.

According to calculations from the health institute IHME at the University of Washington, the infection in Spain will increase during the second half of November. They believe it will continue to increase in December before reaching its peak at the end of the year.

No herd immunity

Although Spain has a high vaccination rate, epidemiologists believe that it is unrealistic to obtain herd immunity. The reason is that the effect of the current vaccines diminishes over time, and thus will not completely block the coronary heart disease.

– Spain is in a good position now, but that does not mean that the country has already reached a point where it can not go backwards again, says Salvador Macip, who is an expert in health sciences at the Open University of Catalonia.

– When you have reached a point where the infection rates are very low, there is only one way to go, namely upwards, says Macip, who has written a book about epidemics in recent times.

At the same time, this does not have to lead to a crisis situation for the country, Comas believes. Spain also began vaccinating the elderly and vulnerable groups with a third vaccine dose in October.

– The infection rate can be high, but if people have been vaccinated and do not become seriously ill, there is no problem, she says.

Celebrated with dance

A total of 87,617 corona deaths have been registered in Spain.

The country, with a population of 47 million, became the first EU country to register one million cases of infection in October last year, and in the spring of the same year, only Italy had more people infected and died in Europe.

Extensive corona measures, including a nocturnal curfew, were introduced. With strict restrictions and increased vaccination, things went far better. After a period of about six months, the restrictions were lifted this spring.

It was celebrated in several places in the country with parties and dancing crowds on beaches. This created fears of increased infection, but the increase has not materialized until now.

(©NTB)

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