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ARCHIVED - Delta variant of Covid accounts for five to seven percent of cases in Spain
The Delta (or Indian) variant of the virus is already behind between five and seven per cent of new Covid cases in Spain, according to official government data.
The head of Spain’s CCAES (Coordination Centre for Health Alerts and Emergencies), Fernando Simón, hastened on Monday to report that concerns over the presence of the Delta variant of coronavirus in Spain are, in his opinion, unfounded at this point.
Madrid’s regional authorities put the cat among the pigeons on Friday by declaring that the region had detected community transmission of the variant, which they reported had arrived via Barajas airport, and announcing that they would be contacting patients in their 60s who are waiting for their second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine to bring their appointments forward in order to protect them from the variant.
In fact, Sr. Simon said on Monday during his usual briefing, the variant currently only accounts for between five and seven per cent of new cases detected in Spain, whereas the Alpha or British variant accounts for 85 per cent of cases. Moreover, he said, it has been detected in just a handful of specific locations.
It is worth pointing out that he said very much the same thing when the Alpha (formerly known as the Kent or British variant) was first detected in Spain, and was fairly dismissive about the increased transmission capability of that variant. This is now the predominant variant in Spain.
Other scientific voices are warning that the combination of a relatively low vaccination rate in Spain compared to the UK, the relaxation of restrictions and re-opening of night-life and the increased transmissability of this variant as Madrileneans prepare to scatter all over Spain for their summer holidays is a potentially dangerous situation, and that by the autumn a fifth wave is inevitable.
While agreeing that the variant could have arrived in Spain by plane, the CCAES director pointed out that it may also have entered the country by road or sea, so the airport in Madrid, where the regional authorities have been complaining for some time of insufficient controls, cannot be held responsible for its appearance.
Where bringing forward second doses of vaccines is concerned, Sr. Simón agreed that it is an excellent idea as the end goal is to fully inoculate as much of the population as possible as quickly as possible.
The second dose of AstraZeneca vaccines should be administered between 22 days and 12 weeks after the first, he explained, meaning Madrid’s plan to bring them forward a week is “perfectly valid”. However, he stressed that the government currently sees no particular threat to make it imperative.
The variant is known to be more contagious than the Alpha or Kent variant, and is believed to be behind the rapid increase in the number of new cases reported in the UK, for which reason the British authorities said on Monday that the remaining restrictions on social contact will not yet be lifted due to the rapid spread of the Delta variant.