Spain poised to authorize use of AstraZeneca vaccine for over 55s, says public health secretary

Spain will authorize the administration of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine to people over the age of 55 on either Friday or Saturday, says Catalan public health secretary Josep Maria Argimon, although other sources believe this could be formalized in a regional health authorities meeting scheduled for Monday.

If confirmed, this move will come following pressure from Catalonia's health authorities, which included threats to unilaterally begin vaccinating older age groups despite Spain's ban.

Catalan health minister Alba Vergés, who visited Valls' Pius Hospital on Friday, said that if Spain removes the current age limit, Catalonia will begin prioritizing vaccination rollout based on age rather than other target groups.

AstraZeneca inoculations resume Wednesday

Use of the jab, which was put on hold for days following concerns it could in rare instances cause blood clots, is set to resume throughout Catalonia and the rest of Spain next Wednesday after the European Medicines Authority's declared it was "safe and effective" on Thursday.

Speaking to public Catalan broadcaster TV3 on Friday, Argimon stressed that blood clots were "infrequent." At least 30 cases have been reported among the close to five million people that have been vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine in Europe, as reported by the EMA last week.

The Spanish Medicines Agency, for one, has been investigating the death of a woman who passed away in Marbella, in southern Spain, days after receiving a dose. According to 'Diario Sur', preliminary autopsy reports indicate her cause of death was not due to vaccine-related blood clots but rather an aneurysm.

Argimon, who is 63, said he had no qualms about receiving the AstraZeneca shot himself once it is his turn and that he would consider doing so publically if it could help dispel fears about the vaccine's safety.

Speed of rollout

Already far behind the inoculation rate of other countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States or Israel, the decision to resume AstraZeneca vaccinations almost a week after being greenlighted by the EMA has attracted criticism.

Magda Campins, the head of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology at Barcelona's Vall d'Hebron hospital, lamented this delay, especially as Germany, France, and Italy have begun using the vaccine again on Friday.

Every day vaccinations are put off "is a day lost in terms of avoiding further deaths," the doctor said in a Catalunya Ràdio interview.

Health minister Alba Vergés, on the other hand, contends that authorities are "not wasting time" by waiting until next Wednesday. Vergés said vaccine rollout should pick up speed then given the 127,000 doses set aside by the Catalan health department, although Argimon warned that Easter would be a bit slower as medical professionals "also need a break."