Last year, at this point, according to the Gripometer indicators, there were 3% of people over 65 years of age immunized, 3.4% more also in the group between 60 and 64 years old and 0.8% more in the general population between 18 and 59 years old. Thus, the overall percentages corresponding to the latest figure adjusted to the first half of December correspond to 63%, 36.9% and 9.9% respectively.
“It may have increased a little from December 17 until today. In Murcia we have achieved 1.5% more,” explains Jaime Jesús Pérez, president of the Spanish Association of Vaccinology (AEV) and deputy director of Public Health of the Ministry. of Health of the aforementioned region. “We are sure that we are going to increase these percentages, because many things have happened at Christmas and the increase in cases has led people to get immunized,” he adds.
For this reason, many communities have opened vaccination to the entire population. In some cases, a prior appointment is still required, such as Aragón. In others, it is not necessary, such as the Valencian Community, Andalusia, Extremadura, Asturias, the Canary Islands and Catalonia. “The idea is that people get vaccinated, because they have time to create immunity in their body,” explains Pérez. Two weeks is the time it takes for the vaccine to ‘take effect’.
While immunization expands, the general perception circulates that this year we have not done our homework against the virus. And that is due to two factors: late start of the vaccination campaign and the weather.
Regarding the second, there is an explanation regarding climate change. “If there are fewer people vaccinated, we can also think that it has been due to a lower perception of risk,” argues Francisco Sanz Herrero, secretary of the Tuberculosis and Respiratory Infections Area of the Spanish Society of Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery (Separ).