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ARCHIVED - Spanish PM recognizes that herd immunity will not be achieved in August
Two Spanish regions have already fully vaccinated 70 per cent of their target populations
The spread of the Delta variant of Covid-19 and the continuing high Covid incidence rates in Spain as the immunization campaign makes good progress led the country’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, to admit on Thursday that the original target of vaccinating 70 per cent of the population will not be sufficient for the ultimate of herd immunity against the pandemic to be achieved.
When the 70 per cent target was set earlier in the year it was anticipated that it could be reached in late August and that remains the case, but developments since then have made it clear that the bar needs to be raised.
While the health services of the northern regions of Asturias and Galicia have already fully vaccinated 72.3 per cent and 70.4 per cent of over-12s respectively, they report 14-day incidence rates of 583 and 681 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, more than double the “extreme risk” threshold of 250. These are only two cases, but they provide ample evidence of the fact that the spread of the Delta variant (and probably the relaxation of pandemic restrictions) have made it necessary to revise the original target.
As a result, it will be well into the autumn before anything approaching herd immunity can be said to have been achieved, a fact recognized by Sr Sánchez on Thursday. In addition, there is a growing body of evidence suggesting that top-up third jabs of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be required to maintain immunity levels.
However, the Prime Minister was justified in pointing out that almost all of the targets set back in April have been achieved on the expected dates, and with the rate of vaccination continuing at approximately half a million doses per day rapid progress continues to be made throughout Spain.
Image: La Moncloa Spanish government website