Discontinued vaccination at Anoeta Stadium by decision with AstraZeneca
- Citations of people who were called to go to this large vaccination centre in Donostia-San Sebastián have been suspended. On Wednesday, the Spanish Government and the Autonomous Communities agreed that AstraZeneca should only be given to young people between the ages of 60 and 65, following the appearance of the European Medicines Agency.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is causing numerous headaches to those who are organizing mass vaccination. On this occasion, about 400 people, called at the Reale Arena or the Estadio de Anoeta de Donostia-San Sebastián, have been sent home without vaccination – in the coming days they had to vaccinate another 9,500 social service workers – after the Spanish Government and the autonomous communities agreed not to vaccinate children under 60 years of age.
The Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa has suspended vaccinations until the Basque Government has received the vaccination criteria from the population. Precisely, on Thursday the Basque Government’s Department of Health decided to comply with what was previously agreed between the central government and the autonomous communities, so AstraZeneca will only be applied to people between 60 and 65 years of age. The Government of Navarra also reported on Wednesday on the same in a joint statement.
There are thousands of Basque citizens who have put the first dose of this vaccine, especially in Hegoalde, where AstraZeneca is not being used as much in Iparralde, many of them from different professions, police, fire brigades, teachers... and from other basic sectors of the composition, such as pharmacists.
Second dose?
All of them were to be given the second dose in May, but now it is not clear what is going to happen. The Basque Government is not clear either, and is seeking information as to whether a single dose would provide sufficient protection, as is being done in other countries. The Health Advisor, Gotzone Sagardui, has announced that they will be released as there is news about the dose.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) acknowledged on Wednesday that AstraZeneca may cause thrombosis and "foreign" collateral damage, but recommended that the swine flu vaccine be continued. This trend has been observed especially in young women. The strategy adopted by the Spanish Government and the Autonomous Communities at the interterritorial meeting – vaccinating only at 60-65 years – has not been well seen by the Basque Government, but will comply with it.
