Although the government Pedro Sanchez It never gets tired of boasting about the “success story” of the vaccination campaign in Brussels. In fact, compared with other EU countries, it lags behind in the administration of enhanced doses.
“Spain is a leading country for vaccination, Not only in the European Union, but also on the international stage,” the Minister of Health said. Carolina Darias, When he visited the community capital for the last timeThe fact is that our country occupies the sixth place in the population percentage and has a complete initial guide (74.7%), but it drops to 21st in the third injection (Only 11.8%). Despite repeated warnings from Brussels, the delay occurred during the outbreak of the omicron variant.
According to EU leaders, until the scientific analysis is complete, the enhanced dose is now the most effective weapon against omicron.Very Pfizer-BioNTech what Modern To maintain the third dose of their respective vaccines Increase antibody levels to neutralize new variants, No longer guarantee the protection of the initial guidelines.
This diagnosis is also shared European Medicines Agency (EMA), where You have not decided whether you need to adjust the vaccine“The top priority now must be to increase vaccination coverage and boost dose coverage and increase supply,” its supervisor said on Tuesday. Emercook.
Over 40
Even before the advent of omicron, EMA and European Center for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) has recommended booster doses for the entire adult population, and Especially those over 40His argument is that the immunity provided by the vaccine is greatly reduced after six months, which requires rebuilding protection to prevent hospitalization and death.
Published the first ECDC proposal November 24, That is, almost a month agoAt the same time, EMA has approved Booster From Pfizer, Moderna and Janssen.
EU booster dose
Once the international alert about the danger of omicron is activated, the chairman of the committee, Ursula von Delane, Urges all Member States Emergency deployment Large-scale enhanced dose injection campaign arrive The entire adult population who already has a complete guide, And not only for the elderly and disadvantaged groups. He did it in a speech before the European Parliament December 1“The emergence of omicron variants has increased the extra urgency of launching large-scale campaigns in all member states to manage the need for enhanced doses,” the community executive had insisted at the time.
Germany looks forward to Brussels’ advice And began to provide the third dose to the entire population in early November. France At the end of last month, he started his campaign with people over 40. Italy It also expanded the booster dose to people over 40 years old from November 25. However, the Sanchez government and autonomous communities have stalled.
In Spain, the third dose is still reserved for people over 60 years old. Until December 16 When Iarrive The Public Health Committee approved the third injection for people between 59 and 40 years old, starting with the oldest.But most autonomous regions They haven’t even set the date yet Start this new mass vaccination campaign. Many of the vaccine sectors operating in the first phase are still closed.
Bulgaria’s enhanced injection coverage rate is only worse than Spain (3.1%); Romania (4.7%); Latvia (7.5%); Croatia (7.7%); The delayed deployment of agents as one of the reasons for this decision; and Finland (10.9%).
Percentage of population with complete initial guidelines
The problem this time is not the lack of vaccinesBrussels has just reached an agreement with Pfizer-BioNTech to provide an additional 20 million doses of vaccine in the first quarter of 2022. The laboratory will send a total of 215 million doses of vaccine to the European Union between January and March.
Valid passport
Moderna also accelerated the supply of vaccines in December and the first quarter of 2022, especially for Germany. Due to poor planning, there is indeed a shortage of vaccines. In addition, member states have requested about 27 million doses of the new Novavax vaccine in the coming weeks. After the EMA green light.
In order to further incentivize the enhanced dose across the EU, Brussels Approved this Tuesday, After the approval of the member states, Then he Covid passport expires in 9 months For people who are vaccinated. The validity period of the EU Covid digital certificate will expire after 270 days, unless the holder injects a third dose.
andRise The goal of this deadline-not foreseen in current legislation-is Promote citizens to apply for an enhanced dose Vaccines and avoid every Member State Take unilateral and contradictory measures. Allow sufficient time for the implementation of these changes and the third dose campaign in Member States, The reform will not take effect until February 1, 2022.
“What is needed now is Make sure to strengthen injections as soon as possible, The largest number of citizens are protected by the extra dose, and our certificate is still a key tool for travel and protecting public health,” the health commissioner Stella Kyriakides insisted.