Top health expert in Spain says mass COVID-19 booster vaccinations are not needed 'in general'

SPAIN’S high-profile director of Coordination of Health Alerts and Emergencies, has said that he does not see the need for a third COVID-19 vaccine shot ‘in general’.

Speaking this Tuesday in Zaragoza, Fernando Simon, stated that would be better to give surplus vaccine doses to third-world countries.

“Only the arrival of a variant that creates high transmission of the virus could cause a serious situation,” observed Simon.

Simon said that COVID-19 transmission rates had decreased in Spain due to the success of the vaccination programme.

Spain has administered 71,802,968 doses of coronavirus vaccine according to today’s update from the Ministry of Health.

It means that over 38 million people, some 93% of the eligible population, have got at least one shot and 37.2 million have been fully immunised.

Vulnerable groups and people aged over 70 have received a third injection and no decision has been taken over extending age categories.

People who the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine will get an additional dose as there is evidence that immunity levels drop quicker than in other options like Pfizer and AstraZeneca.

Spain along with other EU countries will have access to the Pfizer vaccine to offer third inoculations.

Infection rates are rising quickly in Germany, with authorities set to make a decision soon over a big roll out of booster shots.

Over vaccinating children aged under 12, Fernando Simon, said: “There are doubts because they are affected very little by the disease and so there will be reluctance to expose them to possible inoculation side effects, even if they are minimal.”

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