Distribution of Janssen single-dose vaccine begins in Spain

The Ministry of Health has begun to distribute the nearly 150,000 Janssen vaccines among the autonomous communities this morning, after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has endorsed it, to speed up the immunization of the group of 70 to 79 years old in which only 3.3% have had two doses so far.

In this way, the first consignment of 146,000 single doses of the vaccine, which have been kept in the company's central warehouse pending the EMA's verdict since April 14th, will be distributed among the autonomous communities, with another 150,000 due to arrive next week as well before the large volumes start.

The vaccination plan had already determined that this vaccine was going to be used for the elderly, with the aim of speeding up the immunization of the 70 to 79-year-old group, as it had lagged further behind. At this time, 2,054,922 people of these ages have received a dose (45.4% of the total), and the complete guideline has only reached 278,772 (3.3%) in Spain.

The decision comes after the EMA concluded that despite the "possible link" of the drug with the development of very rare blood clots, the balance between benefit and risk of this preparation remains "positive”.

The distribution of Janssen coincides with the decision of the Public Health Commission, not to delay the second doses of the other vaccines in use. This means that the current vaccination strategy will continue to be applied with the dose intervals specified by each pharmaceutical company of: 21 days for Pfizer, 28 for Moderna and 12 weeks for AstraZeneca.