CONCERNS among members of the public in Madrid about their second vaccine being overdue have been assuaged by medical experts, who stress the level of protection will not best be compromised.
Extra doses are being delivered to Spain's coastal regions so that residents in inland areas and big cities spending their summer elsewhere can still have both jabs, which the Greater Madrid region claims has led to a shortage in its own stock – something the government denies, saying enough phials to cover all those now due have been sent on.
And the appointment system in the capital region facing backlog may not be a problem either, professionals in the sector say.
Many Madrid residents say they have not received a text message summoning them for their second jab, although in other regions, SMS communications give dates and times for both appointments from the start.
The vaccine hotline for the capital, the freephone 900 102 112 number, stresses there is no need to have received a text message, or have a QR code in accordance with the region's system – all they require is to book their date and turn up with their identity document.
Spain's health ministry, in accordance with the European Medicines Agency (EMA), originally stated that the second Pfizer and Moderna injections should be given 21 days apart – unlike the AstraZeneca, which has been found to be more effective when given 12 weeks apart, and the Janssen, which only requires one dose.
Is 28 days too long?
Panic is becoming widespread in regions where appointments for second jabs are coming at 25 or 28 days after the first – in most cases, for Pfizer or Moderna inoculations, since Spain ended up reserving the AstraZeneca for the over-60s only, has not ordered any more doses in, and plans to donate the surplus supply to poorer countries.
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