The Public Health Commission has authorized the use of the Janssen vaccine among the population between 40 and 49 years old, as requested by several communities. The vaccine, which is single-dose compared to those of Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca, does not have age limitations in our country although it is only being given to those over 50 years of age or vulnerable groups that are difficult to capture.
The general directors of the Ministry of Health and the communities also have on the agenda of their meeting this afternoon to address the recommendations that will be applied from now on in mass events, as well as other prevention and hygiene for outdoor activities free of the child and youth population, in addition to reviewing the coronavirus variants of main interest.
The Johnson & Johnson drug has been used simultaneously with mRNAs to complete the vaccination of people over 50 years of age and, given the advantages of having the full regimen achieved with a single dose, Public Health agreed to the The day after the 11th, it was assigned to vulnerable groups such as homeless people, seasonal workers, immigrants in an irregular administrative situation, etc.
Also to large dependents with complicated accessibility, with profound autism, mental illness with a lot of agitation; sea workers who carry out deep-sea fishing in long-term campaigns, population in detention centers or under guardianship; aid workers in high-risk countries or people who will not be in Spain on the dates of the second dose due to their activity.
Unlike AstraZeneca, Janssen currently has no age limitations although, like her, the vaccination strategy advises against it for people with a history of thrombocytopenia (low platelet count) induced by the anticoagulant heparin.
Simón anticipates that the mask will no longer be necessary outdoors “in June or July”
Based on the same adenoviral vector technology as AstraZeneca, the numbers of these cases of thrombi detected with the single dose are even less frequent than with the Anglo-Swedish preparation: in Europe only one of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia has been confirmed in a total of 1.34 million vaccinated, specifically in Belgium, which decided to suspend it in those under 41 years of age.
Seven countries have stopped vaccination with Janssen or have not even begun to administer it, another six use it with age restrictions and 13, including Spain, use it without limits.
Sources from the Ministry of Health explained last week that, although both are adenovirus, “they are not exactly the same”; thus alluded to a study pending review that points out that the key would be in the adenovirus “fraction of the protein S of the vector itself”, which is somewhat different in both and that, in the case of AstraZeneca, could be the reason for which a greater immune response is generated.
Blocked in the US
In Spain , 377,994 of the 576,000 vaccines received from Janssen have been punctured; The initial forecast is that until June 5.5 million doses would arrive but, according to the same sources, arrivals are blocked by an inspection of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the main plant of the pharmaceutical.
While the inspection lasts, the distribution of lots of Janssen vaccines from this plant is stopped, which in Health assumes that the initial calculations will not be fulfilled.
However, the company is working to increase the production of its plants in Europe, so Health hopes to compensate for this delay from July and August.
Use of masks
The possibility of relaxing the use of the outdoor mask in which the Ministry and the communities have been working for weeks could also sneak into the debate .
Yesterday, the president of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano Garcia-Page, assured that he would make this proposal throughout the month of June so that it is eliminated at the beginning of July ; his health counselor, Jesús Fernández, indicated that it would be “hasty” to take him to today’s meeting, but to other future meetings of the Commission.
Regarding this, the director of the Center for the Coordination of Health Alerts and Emergencies, Fernando Simón, saw the end of the mask “feasible” in the middle or end of this month and “very likely” for the beginning of next month.
The “problem” is that it is necessary to change the new normal law approved in March, which imposed the mask outdoors even with a safety distance, and that “is not done in 24 hours.”
