Alex Trelinski
COVID vaccinations will drop by a third this week in the Valencian Community because AstraZeneca supplies have dried up.
325,000 doses were administered last week in the region, but the next few days will see that number plummet to 218,000 due to the AstraZeneca shortage.
The regional health ministry has not ruled out shipments arriving this week, but for the time being, no further inoculations of the Oxford-created vaccine have been scheduled.
170,000 of the distributed doses for this week’s injections will be the Pfizer vaccine, as the programme continues to focus on providing first injections to people aged between 66 and 69, as well as second doses after a three to four week gap.
Most doses of AstraZeneca, if they arrive, will be used for second injections for people aged in their early sixties.
It’s possible that another brand like Pfizer could be used for the second shot if shortages persist.
The European Union yesterday(May 9) revealed that they have made no new orders for the AstraZeneca vaccine once the current deal ends in June.
That follows a legal row over the company allegedly breaking an agreement in supplying enough vaccines to the EU.
The EU signed a two-year deal with Pfizer last Friday for 1.8 billion ‘booster’ shots.
READ MORE THE NEW COVID RESTRICTIONS FOR THE VALENCIAN COMMUNITY
VALENCIAN HOSPITAL COVID ADMISSIONS DROP TO SUMMER 2020 LEVELS
