In Andalusia, the leading community in vaccination in Spain , herd immunity is almost a reality in some municipalities, mainly those small and sparsely populated and whose inhabitants are, for the most part, elderly.
In the province of Almería, more than 40% of the population already has at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine , but some towns within the ’emptied’ Almería already caress 70% of those vaccinated .
This is the case of municipalities such as Alcudia de Monteagud, Laroya -both without any positive registered in the entire pandemic- Beires, Castro de los Filabres, Suflí or Velefique , which are already thinking of gradually recovering normality during the summer with the opening of its municipal swimming pools and the celebration of some shows in local festivities.
Herd immunity, closer
“The same now we have about five people who are not vaccinated,” the mayor of Alcudia de Monteagud, Juan Blas Martínez , told Europa Press , who pointed out that most of the people who regularly live in this town in which 138 people are registered, they have already received, at least, the first puncture. “There are very few people unvaccinated because there are very few people under the age of 47,” he indicated.
Only due to the age range and according to the population census data for 2020 offered by the INE , 67.39% of the population of Alcudia de Monteagud could already have been, at least, cited to inject the vaccine, since that only 45 of its neighbors are under the age of 47, although essential professionals such as police officers , caregivers or teachers, and other risk groups such as transplant patients or kidney patients could be found in this other younger age group, to which the vaccine would also have been administered, which would increase that immunity.
However, the census does not always correspond to the ‘real’ inhabitants of the municipality, which can make the calculation difficult. The very territorial delegate of Health and Families of the Junta de Andalucía, Juan de la Cruz Belmonte , acknowledged this week before the media that no study had yet been carried out that would allow us to know which areas or localities had firmly achieved such group immunity. “We are going at a fairly high rate of vaccination,” said the provincial Health Minister in any case.
Despite the absence of such studies, several localities already intuit that this group immunity, if it has not occurred, is quite close. This is also the case of Laroya , which, like Alcudia de Monteagud, has not registered a single case of Covid-19 during the entire pandemic due to the “prudence” of its neighbors. «From 50 years and up, everyone has their second dose. I would dare to say that at least 60% of the town’s residents already have a vaccine, “said its mayor, Dolores Moreno .
The high level of vaccination among these small inland towns, which barely exceed 200 registered inhabitants, is above all a relief for their mayors and neighbors now that the summer season begins and with it, the increase in visits from relatives, friends and family. some tourists who, with the end of the state of alarm and increased mobility, have already dropped in in recent weekends in search of open spaces and recreation.
“By the beginning of July we will all be vaccinated and that is a peace of mind for the people,” said the mayor of Beires, Carmen González , who points out that more than half of its 130 neighbors exceed half a century of life while those who are under 40 years of age “will be 18 or 16 people”, including dependency workers “who are vaccinated”.
Despite everything, some council members have recognized that the process to protect themselves from the coronavirus has not been entirely easy due to the way vaccination has been planned, which in some cases has forced the displacement of older people without means of transport to others points. “The small towns should have come to vaccinate us,” said the mayor of Castro de los Filabres, Francisco Martínez , for whom more facilities should have been given to the 77 residents over 50 who officially appear in the registry that reflects 120 people.
No parties but with shows
The security provided by the vaccination process against Covid-19 has led many municipalities to consider the recovery of outdoor activities and some festivities this summer, although without major celebrations and maintaining “all precautionary measures” , since it has been precisely the absence of “parties” or “family gatherings” that has kept the virus away from its municipal boundaries so far. «We are not going to have verbena parties or dances, but we are going to have shows in which people are outdoors. You have to recover your pulse to return to normal activity, “has ventured the mayor of Alcudia .
In Suflí, where its mayor, Raúl Guirao , estimates that “more than 50%” of the people are already vaccinated due to the advanced age of most of their 160 neighbors, the opening of the municipal swimming pool and the celebration of some outdoor activities for the month of August, although last year some meetings were held with the public seated and respecting social distancing.
“Here people have behaved very well, we only had one case and it was of a person who did not live in the town”, has valued the first Sufflire mayor, who has enjoyed a “Covid free” municipality, as he says. that Velefique, whose mayor, Rafael García , also does not recognize the only case that the official statistics attributed to his town of 230 inhabitants, 190 of whom are habitual residents.
Now, coinciding with the arrival of good weather, Velefique has decided since June 1 to restart its rural tourist homes that had been closed since October last year, with the rebound of the second wave . “We have started to open them again and we are also waiting for more instructions for the municipal swimming pools, to see what viability they have,” said the councilor, whose town is dominated by neighbors aged between 60 and 80 years.
The municipal representatives have agreed that, despite the fact that the absence of contact has prevented them from viruses, it has worn them down psychologically. “Loneliness is very hard,” lamented one of the mayors who, like the rest, has demanded more attention, resources and measures from all administrations and economic powers to prevent their towns from disappearing . Why can’t Velefique have a technology center or a laboratory? Here there is quality of life and cleanliness in the air but there is no awareness of bringing investments to the municipalities that can generate employment, “lamented the councilor from the Los Filabres region.
