AZ vaccine

[roger]

Just been approved in EU for all adults.
Now we wait to see how many we get and when.

[frankie]

Has Spain even started vaccinating yet?  Even my DR was unsure!

[roger]

I do not understand that your doctor does not know.

Andalucia Health Department has large teams of people delivering the vaccine.
Last Sunday they started delivering the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine to care home residents and staff and front line NHS workers.

The next group of people will be those with serious medical conditions who live at home with a carer.
This will be more difficult if they cannot get to a vaccination centre because of the difficulty of storing the Pfizer vaccine.

Then probably will be the over 70s.

The big problem is shortage of vaccines at the moment.
Hence the big argument about the AZ vaccine.
They used the output from the EU based factories to maintain supplies to the UK while they were upgrading the UK based factories.
Now they are saying that the EU will only get 60% of the order in the first 3 months while they upgrade the EU based factories, but will not reduce the UK supply.
This is why the EU have sent their people in to the factories in the EU to see where the vaccines are going.
This will also apply to the Pfizer factory in Belgium because we are due to face a short term cut in supplies while they upgrade this facility.

Unless things change with the AZ supply Spain should get 3 million doses by March, and Andalucias share will be 600,000.
Andalucias share of the Pfizer vaccine is 70,000 a week (subject to short term reductions).
Andalucia is working on the principle of holding back 20% of the doses to guard against supply problems when the second dose is due.

There are over 8 million people in Andalucia.

The good news is that the EU has pre ordered and paid for a lot of other vaccines which are due soon.
Moderna.
Johnson and Johnson
Novavax.

The reality is that things will take time.
But within a few months there will be more vaccines than we can use so we might get a nearly normal summer.

But remember the vaccines vary in their effectiveness.
The AZ vaccine seems to be the least effective.
And it will not stop you getting the virus or being ill.
It will PROBABLY stop you getting very ill and having to go to hospital.

[roger]

Spain has vaccinated 2.6% of the population compared to 10% in the UK.
But in Spain people are getting the second dose within 3 weeks.
In the UK the second dose delivery is not due to start until end of March.
In Spain there have been problems in some regions, particularly Madrid due to the weather, and some regions only operating a 5 day week.
Andalusia is working 7 days a week.
I don't have the percentage for Andalucia.
Probably over 3%

[frankie]

Were vaccine being given at the indoor swimming pool in Albox?  I drove past on 2 occasions (with permission) and the carpark was full and with people queueing outside.

[roger]

I believe it's a test centre

[roger]

Spain has announced today that the AZ vaccine will not be used for over 80s and that the second dose will be after 10 to 12 weeks.
So have seen the latest data from the UK.

[Roscoe]

Does the EU know what they are doing?   

[roger]

There is continuing discussion within the scientific community about the use of the Astra Zeneca vaccine for over 65s.
You will not in this information in the UK media where the information has been suppressed.

Most countries have decided not to use the AZ vaccine for over 65s due to the lack of data.

An eminent UK scientist has summed up the situation clearly.

Because of the risk of serious infection for the over 65s it is reasonable to use the AZ vaccine for this group if there is no reasonable alternative.
However it would be preferable, given the available data, to use the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for this older age group.

In Spain we are waiting for delivery of the 1.8 million AZ vaccines this month.
At the moment the 80 year old group are receiving the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.
The AZ vaccine will be used for the next group, which is health workers and other front line health workers, which of course are below 65.

If we reach the stage where we do not have enough Pfizer and Moderna vaccines but receive more AZ vaccines than we currently expect then a decision will have to be made in March on how to use them.

[frankie]

An 83 yr old lady I know has not been called yet for her jab.

[roger]

They have nearly completed the second dose for people in care homes and are due to start on people in their own homes with their own carer.
It takes time.

Things not perfect in the UK.
My 70 year old sister in law with serious health issues had only just had her letter for the first jab.
Too late.
Seriously ill with covid having caught it from one of the care workers who have been visiting regularly.