Pandemic: Only five communities have opened covid vaccination to all twenty-somethings | Society

The covid is preying on young people and the 14-day cumulative incidence in twentysomethings (640 cases per 100,000 inhabitants) is already three times the Spanish average (204). This group and adolescents are the most unprotected because they have barely had access to the vaccine And, despite the rebound in infections they suffer, it is not yet the time for their mass vaccination. Only five communities – Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Navarra and Castilla-La Mancha – and the two autonomous cities have begun to prick young people between the ages of 16 or 18 and 29. The others continue to focus on vaccinating the group from 30 to 39 years and only Extremadura, the Valencian Community and Galicia have made a gap to inoculate the drug to adolescents who are going to study outside of Spain next year. With 40% of Spaniards with the complete vaccination schedule, experts point out that, although we must advance in the vaccination campaign, the punctures now to young people will not stop the epidemic curve in the short term and warn not to lose sight of the “ priority of vaccinating the vulnerable ”.

The communities are immersed in the vaccination of thirty-somethings and the 40 to 49-year-old group, but the rise of infections in Spain among the younger population has precipitated that some autonomies step on the accelerator to overlap more age groups and begin to puncture the collective where the coronavirus currently circulates the most. Catalonia, which has the highest incidence in Spain and the uncontrolled infection rate among young people (more than 1,500 cases per 100,000 inhabitants among twentysomethings), opened vaccination last week in a single age group to people between 16 and 29 years old. Castilla-La Mancha also began last Wednesday to summon the group from 20 to 29 and Navarra advanced on Friday the summons to the group from 18 to 29, scheduled for the end of the month, given “the notable increase in infections.” The Navarrese Government has also promoted screening among young people who return from trips linked to leisure areas, such as Salou (Tarragona).

Also the islands, both the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, have rushed vaccination in the youngest age groups. Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera opened vaccination to the 16 to 29 year old group on June 26 and Mallorca did the same on June 28: last week, more than 41,000 young people booked an appointment. In the Canary Islands, the non-capital islands (that is, all except Tenerife and Gran Canaria) are also more advanced and are already vaccinating the 20 to 29-year-old group. In fact, explains a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, this Tuesday they will begin to call those over 16 in La Gomera and El Hierro, and in La Graciosa they have almost completed the vaccination of their population (only 12 children need to be punctured from 12 to 16 years).

For their part, in the two autonomous cities, vaccination is also faster. Thus, in Melilla they have been playing twentysomethings for days and in Ceuta, although they began to call some young people last Friday, it was this week when the city has opened vaccination to the group of minors. This Monday, for example, those born in 2005 (16 years old) have come to the appointment for their puncture. “We are waiting for authorization from the ministry to continue with lower ages,” say sources in the autonomous city, referring to ages up to 12 years.

In the rest of the communities, vaccination of the youngest age groups is still very limited. Extremadura, for example, has only started this week with children under 16 with disabilities and with students who will travel to study outside of Spain. In Galicia, young people who will participate in the Erasmus program next year can request an appointment from this Monday through a digital system. The Balearic Islands will also vaccinate this group on Tuesday and Wednesday and the Valencian Community has already begun to puncture the 5,000 students of this group in the community. Cantabria has also announced that it is scheduling appointments for this group.

The Government insists that, below 40 years of age, the vaccination strategy already contemplates that the groups to be vaccinated overlap. “What it is about is not wasting any dose and filling in the agenda. Spain has been able to vaccinate group by group due to the great acceptance of vaccines. Entering this period in which there is less difference in risk between groups, it makes sense to be able to overlap them ”, explained this Monday the Secretary of State for Health, Silvia Calzón.

However, while speeding up the vaccination of young people is a good strategy to protect the group most exposed to the virus, experts clarify that the effect of the puncture will take time to arrive and will not affect the epidemic curve in the short term. “Since the vaccine is accessed, it takes time to acquire immunity. We won’t see the effect for a couple of months. For the challenge of cutting transmission in young people, it is necessary to act with a combination of measures: reduce the hours of nightlife, provide information and education to young people and, of course, vaccinate whenever possible ”, points out José Martínez Olmos, professor from the Andalusian School of Public Health.

Epidemiologists warn against losing sight of the highest priority: vaccinating the most vulnerable. “Vaccination of young people and vulnerable groups has to be balanced by scrupulously planning the vaccination campaign and prioritizing the elderly. Age is still essential, the greatest vulnerability profile ”, insists Amós García, president of the Spanish Association of Vaccination. Spain has already administered almost 44 million doses and 56% of the population (26 million people) have received at least one dose of the vaccine. But there are still 45% of those in their sixties and 20% of people between 50 and 59 years old without receiving the second dose. Not to mention the 27% of the 40-49 group who haven’t even had their first puncture.

Vulnerable in limbo

With the delta variant gaining ground, completing the vaccination guidelines is essential, the experts explain. This lineage of the virus, discovered in India and up to 60% more contagious, aims to be predominant at the end of August, according to the European Center for Disease Control and data revealed by the British health authorities, where this variant is already the majority , suggest that it escapes the vaccine when the person has only received one dose: the first doses of the vaccines are 33% effective against delta, while against the alpha variant (currently predominant in Spain) this percentage rises to 50%.

Precisely, to advance the coverage of the second doses, the Public Health Commission will review the recommendation of the administration schedule for the second doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which until now was indicated between 10 and 12 weeks after the first. The forecast of the Ministry of Health is that the autonomies approve to reduce the period between doses up to eight weeks. That is, it can be administered between eight and 12 weeks after the first one and thus accelerate the pattern of the 60 to 69-year-old group who, due to the time between doses of the drug they have received, have lagged behind in vaccination, in a kind of limbo until deadlines are met. Some communities had already gone ahead and in recent weeks they have lowered this stretch to between 10 and eight weeks (Catalonia, for example) to complete vaccination as soon as possible in this group. “Especially because of the delta variant, the lowering of the interval between doses, as long as it is included in the technical data sheet, it works for us. And the technical data sheet says that the second dose can be administered between four and 12 weeks after the first, ”says García.

In this sense, the president of the Junta de Andalucía, Juan Manuel Moreno, affirmed last Friday that, despite the increase in infections among Andalusians between 15 and 29 years old, it is not planned to alter vaccination plans, because there are still many people without the second dose and fewer vaccines will be available in July. Also the Basque Government, although it admits its concern about the increase in positives among young people, has assured that it is not planned to advance the vaccination of this population group without finishing before inoculating the 30-49 year old group.

With information from Juan Navarro, Caridad Bermeo, Margot Molina, Mikel Ormazábal, Lucía Bohórquez, Jesús A. Cañas Y Maria Fabra.

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