More vaccinations against Covid-19: Andalucía considers a new booster dose

The Andalusian ministry of health and consumer affairs is considering launching a new Covid-19 vaccination campaign in autumn aimed at "vulnerable people".

The campaign will continue to recommend the use of face masks for this group, regardless of any decisions takens by the interterritorial health committee which includes all of the Spanish regions.

This was announced on Monday, 19 June, by the spokesperson for the Andalusian government's coronavirus monitoring group, Dr Inmaculada Salcedo, when asked about the meeting of the national interterritorial committee scheduled for the end of June.

The elimination of the obligatory use of masks in health centres, care homes and pharmacies, as proposed by Spain's health minister José Miñones, is expected to be discussed at the meeting.

In an interview on Canal Sur Radio, reported by Europa Press, Salcedo said that the Junta is awaiting the "technical report" issued by the ministry of health regarding the use of masks before it takes a decision because "obviously what is not obligatory cannot be imposed".

However, she said that in Andalucía, "recommendations" will be maintained because "there are still infections with Omicron as the dominant variant and a third of infections are asymptomatic but can infect vulnerable people, which is where we have focused from the outset because they are the ones who are admitted and may die".

Asked whether there will be a new vaccination campaign against Covid-19 in Andalucía next autumn, Salcedo said that the regional ministry of health is considering it as "a booster dose may be needed in vulnerable people, and specific vaccines against the Omicron variant are also being investigated".

"Immunity is lost more in vulnerable people, we will see if they are susceptible to a new dose of vaccine, as happens every year with the flu and with other types of vaccines," Salcedo added.

She also pointed out that Andalucía does defend that "the mask must be present in health centres in times of high attendance such as winter". "Hand hygiene and masks are inexpensive measures that have been shown to be effective in protecting not only against the coronavirus but also against all respiratory viruses at this time of year," she said.

Individual responsibility

Andalucía is not in favour of completely withdrawing the obligatory use of masks because "there are still infections and admissions, especially of vulnerable people" and it is preferable to give the public an "all or nothing law", Salcedo added.

"We have to be aware that anyone who is in contact with patients or who has symptoms should continue to wear a mask out of responsibility, regardless of whether there is a ban or not,” she said.

Salcedo also said people needed to be collectively responsible for the vulnerable members of the community, even though "fortunately there are fewer and fewer" cases of Covid-19 that end up with admission to an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), but "whoever gets it, gets it, and those who are vulnerable may die".