The Junta's spokesman, Elías Bendodo, claimed this Monday, 4 October, that according to studies by the region's Ministry of Health backed by international data that "thanks to the coronavirus vaccination campaign in the last nine months in Andalucía at least 5,000 lives have been saved," which is why he stressed that "it is the most effective tool to fight the pandemic."

Bendodo, who was visiting the technology sector company Premo, in Malaga, pointed out that the study calculated "between 4,850 and 5,037 deaths have been avoided in Andalucía thanks to vaccination", although it was regretted that "unfortunately more than 11,000 people have died due to the coronavirus" especially before the vaccination campaign.

Vaccination of under-12s

The spokesman said it proved the vaccine worked and appealed to the more than 600,000 people in Andalucía, aged over 12 years old, who because they have not had time or because they have not wanted it, to take the step of receiving their first dose.

Bendodo insisted on the important role of the coronavirus vaccine and specified that 89.6 per cent of the population in Andalucía over 12 years of age is already vaccinated, and adding that the regional government is waiting for "authorisations from Europe and the World Health Organization to jab children under 12 years of age, which we hope will come soon.” He reiterated that in Andalucía "we have given the vaccine faster and in greater numbers thanks to our health professionals."

Normal

In addition, the Junta spokesman pointed out that 40 per cent of Andalucía "already enjoys normality in health districts at alert Level 0", and he is convinced that when the provincial health alert committees meet again there will be "more people in Andalucía who recover normality."

However, Bendodo warned that "the decline in incidence rate is no longer happening in double digits. This is not over yet and I want us to be cautious, the virus is still among us." He reminded that in May "we were like this and we announced that by June we could reach normality", but then "the Delta variant arrived, became predominant and complicated the summer."