Date Published: 24/08/2021
ARCHIVED - August 23 Covid update Spain: incidence rates down but hospital patient numbers rise
ARCHIVED ARTICLE
Almost two thirds of the Spanish population have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus
Coronavirus incidence rates in Spain are continuing to fall after the fifth wave of contagion reached its peak late in July, and the latest update published by the Ministry of Health on Monday evening reports a further 23,899 confirmed cases over the weekend, taking the total since the pandemic reached this country to just under 4.8 million (equivalent to slightly more than 10 per cent of the population).
The national 14-day incidence has dipped to 317 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, representing a decrease of around 55 per cent since the height of the fifth wave, although it also worth remembering that on the same date last year the figure was far lower at 166. By late August 2020 the figures were beginning to rise again as the summer drew to a close, and despite the progress of the vaccination campaign there remain worries that the same could happen in 2021.
For the moment, though, with the 7-day rate remaining under half the 14-day figure at 130 there will most likely be further decreases over the next few days.
Despite the improvement in the overall situation, only Asturias and the Canaries among Spain’s 17 regions present rates below the “extreme risk” threshold of 250, recording figures of 146 and 219 respectively. The next lowest figures are those in the Comunidad Valenciana (262) and Aragón (310), while at the other end of the scale are Extremadura (482), La Rioja (406), the Balearics (399), and the Basque Country (397).
In terms of age groups, all sectors above the age of 50 are below the 250 threshold, and the figure for 40- to 49-year-olds is only just above that level at 250.1. The highest rates are reported in teenagers (666) and those aged between 20 and 29 (545).
Hospital patients and fatalities
While case numbers continue to decline, though, the figures published on Monday show a slight worsening of the situation in Spain’s hospitals, the number of Covid patients admitted for treatment rising to 8,330 (or 7.1 per cent of all occupied beds). In intensive care units a similar trend is observed with the total up to 1,839, accounting for 20 per cent of available beds, and in Catalunya and Madrid the proportions in ICUs are still alarmingly high at 39.5 per cent and 34.25 per cent respectively.
Unfortunately, another 201 Covid-related deaths were confirmed during the weekend, raising the official Ministry toll since the pandemic reached Spain to 83,337.
Vaccination data
The number of people fully vaccinated against Covid-19 in Spain has reached 31,447,188, equivalent to 66.3 per cent of the population.
35,6677,383 people have received at least one vaccine dose, representing 75.2 per cent of the total population.
The last group to be included in the immunization consists of teenagers, and the proportion in this age group to have received their first vaccine dose has now reached 59.1 per cent. However, so soon after the invitation to vaccinate was extended to teenagers very few of them (just 14.8 per cent) have received their second doses.
In the 20-29 age group the equivalent proportions are 70 per cent with at least one dose and 45.3 per cent fully vaccinated.
A decision is expected from the Ministry of Health this week regarding the administration of “top-up” or “booster” jabs for those who received their first two vaccine doses earlier in the year, with much depending on stance adopted by the European Medicines Agency.
Image: regional government of Asturias