Nearly 30,000 residents in nursing homes in Spain have died of Covid-19. The board of homes, residents, and staff is eagerly awaiting the corona vaccine. Nevertheless, although many (CHECK MOST OR MANY OR %) had already received the first injection, it was not enough for many elderly.
There are many private nursing homes in Spain. As a result, it is difficult to get the true figure of Covid-19 victims. Autonomous regions provide their own figures. However, these figures are far from consistent and prove difficult to compare.
No central management of Covid-19 figures in Spanish nursing homes
Some administrations, such as Asturias, Madrid, and Castile, and León only report the total number of deaths. It is not known which proportion of deaths concern the elderly or people with disabilities who are dependent on care. Seemingly it is difficult for central and regional governments to provide more insight into the number of deaths from Covid-19 in nursing homes. This is a hot topic that, Spanish newspaper El País is attempting to get to the bottom of.
How many residents have died?
According to El País, from the start of the corona pandemic until the end of January 2021, 29,757 people in nursing homes in Spain have died of Covid-19 or from similar symptoms. El País uses figures provided by the Ministry of Health and combines them with figures provided by autonomous regional authorities. There have been almost 30,000 deaths in Spanish nursing homes and currently, 13,484 people are infected with the coronavirus.
The article by El País state the number of active infections per autonomous region. They also state the number of deaths up to 27th January. Then they list the number of people who have been diagnosed and the number of people with Covid-19-related complaints.
Second shot for the elderly in Spain comes too late
Now that many elderly in homes have received the first injection, they still appear to be far from immune. The Spanish news site El Español writes on Wednesday that more than 116 elderly people in nursing homes have now died of corona since receiving the first injection. This is a bitter pill for their families who thought they were almost saved. They were just waiting for the final shot. The delay in the delivery of new vaccines is devastating news for them.
