Andalusia Plans To Vaccinate 5 To 11 Year Olds At The End Of October
Health News
Published: 24 September 2021 17:15 CET
The Junta de Andalucia have plans to extend the Covid vaccination programme at the end of October, to include children between the ages of five and 11 years.
The Minister of Health, Jesús Aguirre confirmed the news on Wednesday, stating that the plan is to administer the vaccines in schools but will first need to receive the approval of the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
During a visit with Infanta Elena to the Virgen del Rocio Hospital in Seville, Aguirre told waiting journalists that currently the incidence of Covid-19 in children between the ages of 0 to 11 years old stands at 114.80 cases in the last 14 days, the highest it has been. This is why he believes it is a matter of urgency that the vaccination programme is rolled out to this age group as quickly as possible.
Alongside the programme for the under elevens to be vaccinated, those over eighty years of age will also be offered a third dose, something the Junta de Andalucia has already started to do in nursing homes.
The Health Minister explained that once that age group is vaccinated "the rest of the age groups will be included until the accumulated incidence is the smallest possible."
As well as talking about the new vaccination plans, Aguirre appealed to anyone who has not yet had a vaccine, encouraging them to attend one of the many centres that are open 24 hours a day. He also predicted that in “two or three days” 90 per cent of the population will have been vaccinated and that “will give us peace of mind”.
Aguirre also announced that 100 per cent attendance for face to face appointments at Primary Care Centers “will be a reality” at the beginning of October.
He said, "The evolution of the incidence is very good and the hospital pressure is decreasing significantly, which is causing everything to normalize little by little and the same is going to happen with the health care points."
He also indicated that "health centres are already being opened and the double circuits of Primary Care are being separated" and estimated it would "reach 100% presence in a very few days".
Spain’s vaccination is currently the envy of Europe with recent figures published by the Ministry of Health showing that 76.4% of the population has now been fully vaccinated.
Furthermore, 79.1% of Spanish citizens have received at least one jab.
In the 12 to 19-year-old group,72% have now been fully immunised.
The vaccination campaign has had a very positive impact on driving down the incidence rate in recent weeks with the 14-day cumulative figure per 100,000 now at 71.86, the lowest for more than a year.
Fernando Simón, the director of Spain's Centre for the Coordination of Health Alerts and Emergencies, spoke on Wednesday, September 22 and said that it is likely that "in a week" Spain could reach a cumulative incidence rate of 50 Covid cases per 100,000 residents.
Source
https://www.lavanguardia.com/local/sevilla/20210923/7742424/junta-preve-vacunar-menores-5-11-anos-final-octubre.html
https://www.canalsur.es/noticias/andaluc%C3%ADa/la-junta-quiere-vacunar-a-los-menores-de-5-a-11-anos-a-finales-de-octubre/1752574.html
Image Credit: Junta de Andalucia
