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COVID-19

Spain’s number of coronavirus deaths and infected cases soar in 24 hours

Spain on Sunday reported some 2,000 new coronavirus cases and more than a hundred deaths over the last 24 hours, the latest spike in Europe's second-most affected country after Italy.

Published: 15 March 2020 14:27 CET
Spain's number of coronavirus deaths and infected cases soar in 24 hours
A delivery man wearing a face mask walks into a bakery in the centre of Burgos in northern Spain on March 15, 2020: AFP

The new figures raise Spain's number of coronavirus infections to 7,753 — and its death toll to 288– after the government imposed a near-total nationwide lockdown, banning people from leaving home except to go to work, get medical care or buy food.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced the restrictions on movement on Saturday as part of a 15-day state of alert officially declared by his government.  

All stores except for pharmacies and supermarkets will close nationwide.

Spaniards may leave home to go to work, “buy bread”, go to the pharmacy and get medical care but “not to go have diner at a friend's house”, Sanchez said.  

El Pais have reported that people could be fined 100 euros, and even sentenced to a year in prison if they “seriously resist or disobey the authorities or their agents in the exercise of their functions.”

 

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COVID-19

Public Health Agency recommends two Covid doses next year for elderly

Sweden's Public Health Agency is recommending that those above the age of 80 should receive two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine a year, once in the spring and once in the autumn, as it shifts towards a longer-term strategy for the virus.

Published: 23 December 2022 10:53 CET
Public Health Agency recommends two Covid doses next year for elderly

In a new recommendation, the agency said that those living in elderly care centres, and those above the age of 80 should from March 1st receive two vaccinations a year, with a six month gap between doses. 

“Elderly people develop a somewhat worse immune defence after vaccination and immunity wanes faster than among young and healthy people,” the agency said. “That means that elderly people have a greater need of booster doses than younger ones. The Swedish Public Health Agency considers, based on the current knowledge, that it will be important even going into the future to have booster doses for the elderly and people in risk groups.” 

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People between the ages of 65 and 79 years old and young people with risk factors, such as obesity, diabetes, poor kidney function or high blood pressure, are recommended to take one additional dose per year.

The new vaccination recommendation, which will start to apply from March 1st next year, is only for 2023, Johanna Rubin, the investigator in the agency’s vaccination programme unit, explained. 

She said too much was still unclear about how long protection from vaccination lasted to institute a permanent programme.

“This recommendation applies to 2023. There is not really an abundance of data on how long protection lasts after a booster dose, of course, but this is what we can say for now,” she told the TT newswire. 

It was likely, however, that elderly people would end up being given an annual dose to protect them from any new variants, as has long been the case with influenza.

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