The spread of the different strains in Spain is a fact. Up to eleven variants have been detected so far, and some of them, such as the Colombian one , generate great concern. This mutation could escape the immune response of the vaccine, as the Minister of Health of the Community of Madrid, Antonio Zapatero , has warned this Friday. In the region, several cases of this strain have been confirmed these days, in addition to the Indian variant. In recent weeks, an increase in the South African and Brazilian variants has also been detected, related to greater resistance to immunity. As the cases expand, the government has proven incapable of fine-tuning the tracking system. In the latest report on the situation of the strains, it is recognized that the information available is still limited, which prevents a good diagnosis of their expansion.
Six months ago, the United Kingdom warned of the presence of a new strain, related to a greater spread and lethality. However, Health still does not have a 100% reliable trace. The document indicates that “an effort has been made to confirm the presence of variants by sequencing techniques” in random samples. But “the information available in the Spanish Surveillance System (SiViES) is still limited.”
The report explains that “since complete sequencing techniques are laborious, the results are more delayed than those screened with PCR and the number of sequenced cases incorporated in recent weeks is still low.” For this reason, the Government admits, “it is necessary to continue advancing in this integration process, shorten response times and, above all, incorporate the information from the communities that have not yet been able to do so.” The results, Health concludes, are thus not “representative at the national level.”
The increasing presence of variants in Spain reveals the government’s delay in reacting to the alerts. Since the international spread of new strains became known, several voices demanded from the Executive a greater control at the borders. Today, the British variant is the majority in all the autonomous communities. And in some, like Madrid, you can already see how the Brazilian and the South African are gaining weight.
More controls in Decks
The Madrid Health Minister reiterated this Friday his request to the Government of Spain to increase control and surveillance at the Barajas airport since, he highlighted, only 7% of passengers are controlled by an antigen test.
“The dripping is constant and the PCRs carried out afterwards confirm very high viral loads. We are talking about values so high that it is surprising that they can travel without control of any kind, ”Zapatero denounced.
“I am obliged to reiterate that there is an effective control at the Barajas airport. We are struck by the fact that they do not want to intervene at the airport or train stations and want to introduce a document totally out of date with the current situation, “he added.
Colombian strain
Despite the recent alert for the presence of the Colombian strain in Spain, the latest Health report places it as a “variant of interest” and not among those with “the greatest impact on public health.”
It does recognize that the strain has “mutations compatible with increased transmissibility and escape from the immune response against previous variants.”
The document confirms 11 outbreaks with a total of 122 cases, although, surprisingly, Health ensures that “the possibility of recent international travel has been ruled out in all of them.”
Despite the data, the director of the Alerts and Emergencies Center, Fernando Simón, considered this week that “for now, it does not seem that it is spreading.”
Test the crew
The Community of Madrid has once again marked the step to Pedro Sánchez this Friday. The Executive of Isabel Díaz Ayuso requires the Government to carry out antigen tests to 100% of the crew from countries with the “very high” incidence and presence of “dangerous strains”.
“We are concerned that citizens may travel with viral load without control of any kind,” said Zapatero.
