Government approves final three age groups for vaccine calendar

NATIONAL health authorities have approved the final leg of the Covid vaccine calendar with the last three age groups set to go – although regional governments may overlap these if the need arises.

All bar two regions – Castilla y León and the Comunidad Valenciana – are now working through the 40-49 age group, and the latter is due to start on this community on June 17, beginning with those aged 49, having begun later than the rest of the country due to its high number of municipalities and heavy population density, especially along its coast.

Some, such as the Canary Islands, are making headway with those in their late 30s.

Now, the strategy drawn up by the central government in conjunction with regional leaders has included three more age groups, who will be immunised starting from the oldest to the youngest.

Regions are urged to continue to track down and contact residents in their 40s for jabs, where they have already started these, and can then move onto the 30-39 age group.

After this, those aged 20 to 29 will be vaccinated, and finally, teenagers aged 12 to 19.

These three age categories can overlap if necessary – such as if there are problems calling in all the 30-plus group, health authorities can start summoning those in their 20s in the meantime or, if a region has a higher population of teenagers than 20-somethings or 30-somethings, they can focus on those instead so as to get as many of them immunised as possible before the school term starts in September.

Regions are asked to 'prioritise' vaccination of teens aged 12 and over who would have to wait until very last because of their age but who need to be immunised as soon as possible for other reasons, such as illness, chronic health conditions that put them at greater risk, and those who need full-time care.

Otherwise, descending age order is normally recommended, since if every member of the population had the same level of health and of public exposure, age would be the main risk factor – not just in the elderly or in pensioners, but even in much younger adults; a person of 30 has a greater risk of serious consequences if they catch the virus than a person of 25, for example, according to epidemiologists.

The health ministry has agreed to this 'mixed age' approach, due to the greater availability of vaccines than earlier in the year, and due to the epidemiological situation in the country – nationwide, fewer than 10% of intensive care beds are taken up by Covid patients, below 2% of main hospital beds, and the incidence is now well below 'high-risk' level; in fact, in some regions, it is almost anecdotal.

At the moment, the Canary Islands, Balearic Islands and the Comunidad Valenciana have some of the lowest figures in Spain – in the latter, outside the three main cities, the largest towns are reporting numbers in double or single figures at the most, although many of these, and the overwhelming majority of small towns and villages, have been at zero for weeks, if not months.

Given this, it is very likely that parts of the country will stop making mask-wearing compulsory outdoors very soon – unless the government decides on a homogeneous national approach.

At present, masks for outdoor use are not expected to become optional everywhere in Spain until the oft-cited 'herd immunity' is achieved, or 70% of the population fully immunised.

With the current progress of the vaccine roll-out, the majority of cases of contagion are being seen in very young adults, who have been warned not to let their guard down just yet.