MADRID – All over 70s in Spain will be invited from the end of October to get the booster vaccination. The EMA approved the third shot on Monday but stated that it is not strictly necessary. However, Spain decides to offer these to the older population.
Spain´s Ministry of Health, together with the autonomous community authorities, on Tuesday, approved the administration of a third dose of the RNA vaccine Pfizer-BioNTech. This third shot may be given to people already vaccinated with one of the RNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna). In principle, a third jab takes place about six months after people have had their second jab.
Third shot not necessary according to EMA
On Monday, The European Medicines Agency EMA gave the agreement to administer a third dose for people over 18. This is despite the fact there is still little scientific evidence about the actual effectiveness of such a third shot. Scientists state that it is still too early to conclude that a drop in antibodies, a few months after the full dose of two shots, actually means the body has more difficulty protecting itself protect against the virus.
At the time of writing, more than 6.8 million people over the age of 70 have been fully vaccinated in Spain. The vast majority of these people have received the vaccine from Pfizer or Moderna. The third dose of Pfizer will be available to them from the end of October. For people who have been vaccinated with Janssen, nothing will change for the time being because the EMA has not yet taken a decision on this.
Spain already gave a third shot to a select target group
At the beginning of September, the EMA already approved a booster vaccination for a select target group. Spain has been giving this third shot since September 9 to the most vulnerable people, including those undergoing organ transplants or chemotherapy.
From October 25, people over 70 will be invited for the third jab. This is for those who had their last corona jab over six months ago. In many Spanish regions, this vaccination will coincide with the annual flu shot. After this group, most Spanish regions are also planning to invite the over-65s in Spain to get the booster vaccination.
