Spain will receive 4.5 million doses of Pfizer vaccine in 12 weeks Society

Spain will receive 4.5 million doses of vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech in the next 12 weeks. There will be 350,000 weekly doses that will be distributed among the autonomous communities to progressively immunize the population starting with the first risk group: the elderly living in residences. But before that, a first symbolic delivery of several thousand vaccines will be received on Saturday, arriving in Guadalajara. This will be the city where the first injection is given on Sunday, December 27. The photo of the first puncture will be taken there. But it will do so just minutes before the rest of the autonomous communities, which will start vaccinating on the same day, as announced on Wednesday by the Minister of Health, Salvador Illa.

The reason I arrive in Guadalajara is that Pfizer has a warehouse there and the company that makes the deliveries. Sources familiar with the process explain that they are centralized there on the first day for logistical reasons: the vaccine requires a temperature below 60 degrees below zero. They arrive in boxes of 5,000 units that can keep this temperature, but once opened, if they are not stored in ultra cold, they must be thawed and stored in the refrigerator between two and eight degrees, which will take five days. Because only a few thousand doses will arrive on the first day, there is no box for each autonomous community, so this process must be centralized in Guadalajara. Vaccines will arrive in all parts of Spain, including the islands of Ceuta and Melilla, by early 27 in the morning so they can start vaccination, Illa said.

Once this first symbolic vaccination is done, the immunizations will start arriving from Puurs, the Belgian factory Pfizer, directly to the autonomous communities in proportion to the population they have in their residences. They will store them in centers that in most cases have not been made public for security reasons and from there they will first distribute them to the centers for the elderly. In fact, the Interior Ministry has demanded that these sites be kept secret. Yes, he revealed, for example, Aragón, who will keep them in the clinical hospital before distributing the doses to specific vaccination points in the community. There it has two ULT freezers with a storage capacity of 193,050 cans per ULT freezer (386,100 in total). Although the exact number of doses corresponding to each community in this first phase has not been disclosed at this time, this capacity is more than sufficient for the first batches.

These stores will first be distributed among the centers for the elderly, where teams of assistants who have been trained in their management will challenge residents. They will later reach health centers and hospitals. It will be very similar to the one with the flu campaign, although this vaccine has different logistical requirements. First it is necessary and ultra cold; but, once thawed, it is transported through the same channels as any other medicine that requires a cold. The next added difficulty is that each vial has five doses, which must be diluted separately, so the process is somewhat slower and heavier than with other injections.

With the 4.5 million doses of Pfizer, it will be possible to vaccinate 2.25 million people, because it requires two stings, 21 days apart. It covers practically the first phase of the vaccination plan, which includes four groups: people living in social health centers, their carers (whether or not they are health carers), health workers and large dependents. They number about 2.5 million people. Although the Pfizer vaccine will start, this first phase is expected to include Moderna, whose evaluation by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) is scheduled for 6 January. and this has already been approved in the US.

In this way, there would be more than enough injections to vaccinate these 2.5 million people in the next 12 weeks. Although the ministry has not officially announced which group will continue to be vaccinated, it is more than likely that it will be for those over 65 and the chronically ill. If all goes according to plan, the vaccine may be started in late spring at the latest.

The plans of the autonomous communities

The weekly batches will reach each autonomy at the beginning of the week. Some regional councilors have revealed details about how these first bars will be. Vice Madrid He explained that the remittances would arrive on Monday, immediately after admitting that he knew exactly how many doses he would receive for the start of the campaign on Sunday 27. Aguado also pointed out that there are 40 teams ready and that two million syringes to be used specifically in vaccination against covid-19, is reported Manuel Viejo.

Andalusia, in turn, will receive 1,980 doses on Sunday, as stated by the Andalusian adviser in the field, Jesús Aguirre. The Council set up two storage centers, one in Seville for western Andalusia and another in Granada for the eastern part. Upon arrival of the vaccine, it will be distributed in 45 or 47 primary care centers, depending on the number of doses, and will reach 37 hospitals, reports Margot Molina. “We have 178 vaccination teams ready, with over 500 nurses specially trained to administer the Pfizer vaccine; 73 medical teams will take care of nursing homes and social health centers, where to start the administration of the vaccine “, said the epidemiologist Inmaculada Salcedo, spokesperson of the Andalusian Committee of Experts, after the weekly meeting of the Advisory Council for Alerts public health.

On your side, Navarra He even specified which people will be vaccinated on Sunday: 150 elderly people from the public residence El Vergel in Pamplona. Citations will be made for the two doses, both for residents and for social health professionals. Councilor Induráin said the weekly batches would arrive “on Monday or Tuesday”.

Valencian Community This Sunday will vaccinate 800 people from seven residences, including users and social health personnel, who do not have a covid-19 outbreak or who have exceeded them more than 90 days ago. Each residence must have two nurses and a doctor for vaccination, he reports Ferran Bono. The Ministry of Health will provide the missing staff, as well as a coordinator who will oversee the process. Starting Monday, the Valencian Community will receive 30,000 doses per week, according to department sources.

Into the Castile and Leon, 133 nurses will begin vaccinating in all provinces this Sunday “as a testimonial,” Health Minister Veronica Casado said Wednesday. Casado added: “Let’s hope he won’t be late. The reception and distribution will take place on Monday and, later on Tuesday, the beginning is expected “, reports Juan Navarro. The forecast is that 126,000 doses of Pfizer vaccines will arrive in the first month, so that with this first batch, about 63,000 people could be vaccinated. Baleares It will start on Sunday, he said Lucia Bohórquez. The government intends to vaccinate at a rate of between 500 and 1,000 citizens.

Into the Catalonia, The Department of Health has sent to nursing homes the document that detainees and workers will need to complete to give their consent to be vaccinated starting Sunday. Catalonia will receive this weekend, probably on Saturday, 215,000 doses of product to vaccinate 106,000 people. Into the Asturias, The regional government does not know the exact number of doses it will receive to start the process, reports Efe. The principality will start with the residences with the largest number of users. A team of 148 professionals will provide the vaccine.

Coronavirus information

– Here you can watch the last hour about the evolution of the pandemic

– Search engine restrictions: What can I do in my city?

– This is how the coronavirus curve evolves in the world

– Download the tracking app for Spain

– Guide to action against the disease

Source