Date Published: 09/04/2021
ARCHIVED - Spain amends AstraZeneca use again: 60 to 69-year-olds will be vaccinated with AstraZeneca
ARCHIVED ARTICLE
All those in their 60s could now be immunized using the Oxford AstraZeneca product
Yet another alteration to Spain’s policy regarding the use of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine was announced by the national Public Health Committee on Thursday as the authorities continue to adjust their priorities in the light of the EMA’s admission earlier in the week that a “possible link” exists between the use of the product and the “very rare” side effects which have been reported, and as a result the drug is now to be administered to all of those aged between 60 and 69 in this country.
Prior to this week the Astra Zeneca vaccine was earmarked for the entire population aged under 65, but in the light of the EMA announcement it was suspended for all under-60s on Wednesday. This is because the risk of blood clots appears to be higher in younger adults, particularly women, and in consequence the Spanish authorities have now decided to raise the upper age limit to 69.
For the time being, this leaves under-60s who have already received their first dose in a state of great uncertainty as they await news on whether the second will be administered – and if so, whether it might be of a different vaccine - while for those in this age group who have not yet had either jab it means that their immunization has been postponed.
At the moment, the most likely option being discussed is that all those who have received one dose of AstraZeneca will be given a second.
As things now stand, then, some 66- to 69-year-olds in Spain will therefore receive the AstraZeneca vaccine while others may be given the Pfizer or Moderna products, depending on supplies in the regions where they live, while another possibility involves the arrival of the Janssen vaccine in Spain.
This means that those in their late 60s are suddenly near the front of the queue and can expect to receive any one of the three products currently in use, as the Ministry of Health pursues its aim of vaccinating the most vulnerable sectors of the population as soon as possible.
At the same time, though, the previously established priority professions, such as police and Guardia Civil officers, military personnel, firefighters and schoolteachers, find that they have been relegated down the list of priority groups. It goes without saying that these groups are far from happy with the situation, and the CSI-F union has demanded an urgent meeting with the Ministers for Health and Education to clarify the latest decisions, which they believe respond to political rather than scientific criteria.
In all of these various ways, the number of people affected by the latest changes runs into millions. Over 5 million people in Spain are in their 60s who are now likely to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine, and another 11 million or so between the ages of 45 and 59 are no longer eligible to do so.
According to the latest Ministry of Health bulletin, over 2.3 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine have so far been administered in Spain, while another 900,000 have been delivered to the regional health services.