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Date Published: 20/12/2022

ARCHIVED - Covid still the leading cause of death in 2022: Spain pandemic update Dec 20

ARCHIVED ARTICLE -

Almost 117,000 people have been killed by coronavirus in Spain since the beginning of the pandemic

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Covid still the leading cause of death in 2022: Spain pandemic update Dec 20

Although the health situation has stabilised dramatically in the run up to Christmas, coronavirus remains the leading cause of death in Spain in 2022, according to the latest data released by the INE on Monday December 19. Covid-related fatalities have dropped by around a third compared to the same period last year, but the pandemic was still responsible for 20,915 deaths in the first six months alone.

While even one death is one too many, the data paints a dramatically different picture since the beginning of the health crisis: throughout 2021, Covid killed 39,444 people, which is a 35% decrease on the previous year.

To date, Spain has registered a total of 13,651,239 coronavirus infections, 3,038,849 of which have been diagnosed in people over the age of 60. In addition, 116,658 Covid-related fatalities have occurred since the start of the pandemic.

Reacting to the data this week, Spain’s Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, highlighted the “stability” of the pandemic at the moment, given that the cumulative incidence rate in people over the age of 60 has dipped to 156 cases per 100,000 inhabitants – that’s a drop of just two points since the last update on December 12, but a drop nonetheless.

When it comes to the different autonomous communities, Andalucia maintains the lowest incidence rate, standing at 57.18 cases this week. Cantabria is currently faring the worst, with 297 infections per 100,000 people while the Valencian Community is sticking below the national average, with 144.22 cases.

In other positive news, the stability is also being observed both in hospital occupancy and in ICU beds, with just 11% of acute respiratory infections registered in Spain caused by coronavirus. This is largely due to the high vaccination rate in the country, according to the Minister: “93% of the population over 12 years of age has a complete regimen" - a minimum of two doses - a percentage that, however, drops to 71% of those over 80 years of age and to 53% of those over 60.

One potentially worrying development is the spread of yet another Covid variant, the BF.7 sublineage, which is ringing alarm bells in China and is reportedly already responsible for 5.7% of infections in the United States. For the moment it’s not causing undue concern in Spain, although the health authorities are certain that it’s already circulating here.

The Ministry has determined that this new variant is very contagious even among vaccinated people but that there is no evidence that it causes more severe symptoms than Omicron. In fact, it doesn’t really differ that much from its predecessors except that it behaves more like the common cold than the flu, most often causing headaches, coughs and nasal congestion.

Read more: How to book a vaccination appointment to get your Covid jab

Image: Pixabay

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