Spanish children get vaccinated in show of ‘solidarity’

Spain on Wednesday began a new vaccination campaign against COVID-19 targeting children aged 5-11, in a significant logistical effort to prevent infection. The aim is not just to increase individual coverage but to protect the elderly during Christmas.

Nearly 3.3 million children aged 5-11 will be vaccinated from Wednesday in health centres, hospitals, and ad hoc vaccination centres, including sports pavilions and other facilities.

Only five Spanish regions have opted to use schools as improvised vaccination centres.

Interviewed by Spain’s public radio station Radio Nacional de España (RNE) on Wednesday morning, minutes before receiving the injection, children said this was an “opportunity” to feel safer at home and protect their grandparents too.

“I do it also for my grandparents, not only for me”, said Manuel, an 11-year-old boy from Madrid. “I want to feel safe at home with my parents, my grandparents and my friends”, added Sara, a nine-year-old girl from Seville, EURACTIV’s partner EFE reported.

In Catalonia, more than 45,000 appointments were made via the regional health department’s app in the first hours after the system’s opening on Monday. In the Basque Country, more than 16,000 appointments were made in just four hours.

The first shipments of the paediatric vaccines arrived on Monday in Spain, including a total of 1.3 million doses from Pfizer. The health ministry has already distributed them across the 17 regions.

The paediatric anti-COVID vaccine is only 10 micrograms, one-third of the amount given to adults. The Spanish health ministry reported that the interval between doses would be eight weeks for children instead of 21 days.

Spain will begin this new vaccination cycle targeting at-risk children with diseases and weak immune systems and children aged 9-11. Regions can, however, be flexible and adapt their strategy depending on circumstances and specific needs.

On Tuesday, the Spanish Association of Primary Care Paediatrics (AEPap) called on parents to opt for vaccination of their children because “children are not exempt from suffering serious forms of COVID-19 although the number of complications is small in relation to adults”.

The paediatric variant of the Pfizer vaccine has shown high efficacy against symptomatic COVID-19 (90.7% in clinical trials), with fewer reactions than in the 16-25 year age group.

(Fernando Heller | EuroEFE.EURACTIV.es)