Vaccine delay for healthcare workers who have already been infected

THE Ministry of Health has proposed delaying vaccination for healthcare workers under 55 who have already been infected with covid-19 by up to six months.

Preliminary studies are showing that people who have already had covid-19 may only need one dose of the vaccine to achieve full immunity as they already generate antibodies that protect them from being infected.

This information has been included in an update of the Spanish Government and Autonomous Regions’ vaccination plan which reads, “the vaccination of first-line health personnel (group 2) and other health and social health (group 3) workers until six months have elapsed from the date of diagnosis”.

This recommendation will be made amongst people of these groups under 55 years of age and without risk conditions.

This new indication is made “taking into account the current situation of doses availability and the evidence that continues to appear in relation to the duration of immunity after infection”, as well as “the low frequency of cases of reinfection “.

This new guideline could be extended to prioritized essential healthcare workers and workers who have been infected recently or after the first dose of the vaccine.

The aim of the Government of Spain and all the countries of the European Union is to achieve collective immunity (70 per cent of the population) before next autumn, but the shortage of doses and the logistical difficulties and commercial tensions are making it complicated for the vaccination to reach the desired speed.

From December 27 and until this Tuesday, 2,167,241 doses have been administered (almost 90 per cent of the vaccines received), and 838,782 people have already received the two doses, around 1.5 per cent of Spanish citizens.

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