Last minute on the coronavirus and political news
09:56 h
Marina Vadillo, president of the Los Olmos residence, on the vaccine: "We are very satisfied because we see the beginning of the end"
Marina Vadillo, the president of the first center for the elderly to begin vaccination against COVID-19, Los Olmos in the city of Guadalajara, has confessed to the media that she is very excited to be able to represent all of Spain and all of Castilla-La Mancha the first vaccination day. "The good thing is that vaccination will continue and we health workers are very satisfied because we see the beginning of the end. We have to continue fighting and we must continue to maintain security measures because this is not over yet, but it has been a very big step "Vadillo declared.
Regarding the organization, the utility has also been satisfied as it is a quick process despite the fact that it coincides in the middle of Christmas.
Los Olmos has been since June without any positive case for COVID-19.
09:30 h
Maggie, Zulema, Anita, Sandra: the world's first people vaccinated against the coronavirus
One year after the first cases and about nine months after the outbreak of the pandemic, the images of the coronavirus vaccines have stopped being small laboratory bottles to have faces and proper names. They are the names of women like Maggie or Zulema. December has been the month of authorizations for the serum developed by Pfizer and BioNTech (only the US has approved the use of Moderna's so far), kicking off the first vaccinations in various corners of the planet, from the United Kingdom to Chile, going through Canada or Switzerland.
This Sunday, Araceli, 96, has become the first vaccinated in Spain, thus joining the for now small group of people vaccinated against the coronavirus in the world. Several European countries also begin their vaccinations today, reaching more and more people.
09:03 h
Araceli, 96, first vaccinated in Spain against COVID-19
Spain today has taken a historic step with the first injections of the COVID-19 vaccine. It was in 'Los Olmos', a public nursing home in Guadalajara, where Araceli, the oldest inmate at 96 years old and the youngest worker, received a dose of Pfizer / BioNTech serum at 9 am on Sunday . They are the first protagonists of a vaccination campaign whose initial phase aims to cover 2.3 million people in the next 12 weeks.
As promised by Health and the Junta de Castilla-La Mancha, today was a discreet act with no greater media presence than the live signal offered by TVE. 'Los Olmos' is one of the few public centers for the elderly in the community and has 70 inmates, 120 employees and currently no positive cases. However, 13 people died at the residence in the first wave according to official data from April 30. The health crisis has been especially bloody with the more than 5,000 nursing homes in our country, where 20,268 people lost their lives.
Informs Monica Zas Marcos.
08:55 h
Italy administers its first three vaccines to healthcare personnel
Italy has administered its first three vaccines against COVID-19 at 7:20 am today to health personnel at the Lazaro Spallanzani hospital in Rome, as reported by the center. The first to receive the vaccine in Italy were Maria Capobianchi, a biologist in charge of the virology laboratory that, last February, isolated the coronavirus for the first time; the nurse Claudia Alivernini and the social worker Omar Altobelli.
The 9,750 doses of Pfizer vaccines that have been destined for Italy arrived in Rome this Saturday escorted by the Carabinieri from Belgium and later a part was distributed in all the regions where they will also be inoculated today. "Today Italy wakes up. It is Vaccine Day. This date will stay with us forever. Let's start with health workers and the most vulnerable groups and then extend the possibility of achieving immunity to the entire population. And definitively defeat to this virus, "wrote Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Twitter.
The Ministry of Health specified that the doses of vaccine delivered to all European countries by December 27 are "symbolic" and that the actual distribution will begin from the week of December 28 and around 470 thousand doses will arrive in Italy each week.
Information of EFE.
08:50 h
The fear of vaccines and the 'nocebo' effect
A few days ago, multiple media outlets around the world reported, with some alarm, Tiffany Dover's fainting after receiving the Pfizer vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Dover, head nurse at CHI Memorial Hospital in the State of Tennessee (USA), became dizzy and fainted (did not lose consciousness) within minutes of being administered the vaccine in front of the cameras that broadcast the event live. Brief moments later, the nurse recovered and was walking on her own feet. The sanitary herself clarified that she frequently faints when she feels pain: "I feel fine now. I have probably fainted six times in the last six weeks." Like many other people with an aversion to injections or pain, Dover suffered a vasovagal reaction upon receiving the vaccine, which caused a sudden decrease in blood flow to the brain. This vasovagal reaction can be triggered by anxiety, pain, or extreme emotions, among many other factors.
Despite the medical irrelevance of the event, anti-vaccines and conspirators took the opportunity to misinform and alarm on social media about the alleged dangers of vaccines against COVID-19. It has not been the first case nor will it be the last. It was already anticipated that any unfounded suspicion of adverse effect, however delusional, would end up being used as an anti-vaccine weapon. A few days ago, various media picked up the news that a retiree was struck by lightning a month after receiving the Moderna vaccine as a volunteer in a clinical trial. There is absolutely no biological plausibility why giving a vaccine would make you a lightning rod, but this information was used again to unjustifiably attack this preventive treatment.
Writes Esther Samper.
08:45 h
Can the coronavirus "escape" from vaccines?
The coronavirus pandemic has been bad news for creationists: once again, researchers can observe how biological evolution works in real time thanks to a microorganism. We already knew that Darwin was right, but what many did not imagine is that natural selection could play against us during a health crisis. Now that vaccination has also started in Spain, could SARS-CoV-2 mutate enough to escape its protection? What can we do to prevent this from happening?
"It is a risk that can happen because viruses, by nature, mutate to evade the body's defense systems," CSIC researcher Mariano Esteban told elDiario.es. It is something that those who work on vaccines against diseases such as malaria know well and aids —Which pose a great challenge due to the parasite's great adaptability — and flu —whose vaccine changes every year. It is also something known for animal coronavirus experts.
Writes Sergio Ferrer.
08:44 h
Health authorities warn of false letters offering appointments to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Euskadi
The Department of Health has warned this Saturday of the appearance of "false" letters related to COVID-19 in which Basque citizens are called to go through outpatient clinics to take the vaccine. In the false letter, which has the logo of Osakidetza and the Basque Government, citizens are requested to go to their clinic to receive the first dose of the vaccine and it is stated that it will be in April when they are informed of the second dose. In addition, it is noted that it is a "mandatory vaccine for those over 50 years of age, so in case of not going to the medical center, the competent authorities will be notified", reports Europa Press.
Given all this, the Basque Government has warned that it is a "false" letter. Why? The vaccination will begin this Sunday in a symbolic way in three residences and will initially continue in the centers for the elderly. No official calendar has been offered for the entire population, which will be informed in due time and form by the health authorities. A detailed reading of the document reveals that the cited regulations have nothing to do with COVID-19 - Royal Decree 1/2020 served to raise pensions this year - and some spelling mistakes flourish.
Informs elDiario.es Euskadi.
08:38 h
Spain starts vaccination against coronavirus
Nine months after the COVID-19 pandemic broke out uncontrollably and changed our way of living and relating, Spain begins vaccination against the coronavirus. It will do so with a first batch of doses from Pfizer / Biontech, the only one currently endorsed by the European Union, which have arrived in Guadalajara this Saturday and that they will be distributed to all the communities to start the initial phase of the plan in the homes for the elderly, severely hit. The first vaccinations will be given at 9:00 am on Sunday 27 at the Los Olmos public residence, in the Castilian-Manchega city. Will be administered the oldest resident and the youngest worker in the center.
Although the secrecy about the operation has been almost total for security reasons, the first doses have already arrived this Saturday to the facilities that Pfizer has in Guadalajara, where technicians from the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products have received them for certification. A military team has collected the trays that correspond to the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, Ceuta and Melilla to transport them to those territories by air, while the rest will arrive by road.
Inform Marta Borraz and Raul Rejon
