Spain to Purchase Grippe A Vaccines in EU’s Joint Procurement Process
MADRID, Jan 15 (EFE).- Spain’s Ministry of Health will acquire vaccines against avian flu (A/H5N1) in the EU’s upcoming joint procurement process. The decision comes despite the absence of human-to-human transmission, as the epidemiological situation has evolved since June when Spain opted not to acquire them.
The Secretary of State for Health, Javier Padilla, confirmed this development during a coffee event hosted by Medicina Responsable. He emphasized that Spain is actively reviewing its stocks of essential supplies such as ventilators, masks, protective gear, and diagnostic tests. It is also actively participating in EU-level surveillance to monitor the potential spread of the virus.
Spain had initially decided against joining the centralized vaccine purchase mechanism because of the low probability of human transmission in Spain. However, the evolution of the epidemiological situation – with 66 confirmed human cases in the US, one death, and nearly 700 dairy cattle herds affected in several states – has prompted the Ministry of Health to reconsider.
In June 2024, the EU’s health emergency response authority (HERA) inked a deal to procure up to 665,000 doses of the avian flu vaccine. The contract, set to run for four years, included an option for an additional 40 million doses. Spain initially refrained from acquiring vaccines due to insufficient efficacy data.
While Padilla acknowledged the change in the epidemiological situation, he stressed that human-to-human transmission has not yet been documented. However, he noted that purchasing vaccines raises the likelihood of the virus adapting and mutating, potentially leading to human transmission.
The Center for Health Alerts and Emergencies (CCAES) recently updated its risk assessment, maintaining Spain’s risk level as "very low" for the general population and "low" for high-risk groups, such as farm workers.
Regarding the recent respiratory infections in northern China, Padilla reassured that the strain in question is already known and has previously caused increases in infections in Europe without raising significant public health concerns. He emphasized that while it is natural to be sensitive to news about infectious diseases, the current situation in Spain is not cause for alarm.
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